WhatsApp is now letting users in India make payments through the app. This makes it easier for users to safely send money to friends, family, and merchants.
Making Payments Through WhatsApp
In an About Facebook blog post, Facebook (WhatsApp's parent company) announced that payments in WhatsApp finally gained approval by the National Payments Council of India (NPCI). Users in India will now be able to use WhatsApp to digitally send money.
WhatsApp is employing a real-time payment system, called the Unified Payment Interface (UPI), which allows for transactions using any UPI-supported app. This lets Facebook compete with the likes of Google Pay, PhonePe, Amazon Pay, and Paytm, all of which already operate in India using UPI.
According to the NPCI, third-party apps are allowed to process no more than 30% of UPI transactions over a period of three months. Due to the NPCI's guidelines, UPI payments on WhatsApp will roll out in waves, and will be temporarily limited to a maximum of 20 million users.
Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of Facebook, expressed his excitement over the launch of mobile payments in India in a short video. He noted that the new feature allows you to send money "just as easily as you send messages."
Facebook also stated that the new payment feature will allow users to "safely send money to a family member or share the cost of goods from a distance without having to exchange cash in person or going to a local bank."
As long as users have a bank account and a debit card, they can access WhatsApp's payment feature. WhatsApp is partnering with five banks, including HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank, Axis Bank, the State Bank of India, and Jio Payments Bank.
WhatsApp also assures its users that the digital payment feature will keep private information secure. The feature is created with a "strong set of security and privacy principles," and will require users to enter a UPI PIN when making payments.
The feature will be available on both Android and iOS versions of WhatsApp. This comes just after WhatsApp released an update to make bulk deleting messages easier. The app also unveiled disappearing messages, allowing your conversations to vanish after seven days.
When Will WhatsApp Payments Roll Out Globally?
Users in Brazil and India can send money through WhatsApp, so it's only a matter of time until the feature comes to the rest of the world. While you wait, there are plenty of alternative mobile payment apps you can use in the meantime.