WhatsApp payments: As the earlier reports suggest, Facebook owned Instant messaging service WhatsApp unveils UPI Payments on its platform. The new beta version of the app introduces the WhatsApp Payments option for peer-to-peer (P2P) money transfer.
The Payments option in WhatsApp to roll out in India first and is being built on the government-backed Unified Payments Interface. This new WhatsApp in-app Payment option can be found in the WhatsApp version ’2.17.295′ on the Google Play Beta Program.
The official WhatsApp Payments section for Android which’s still under development reads the tagline “WhatsApp Payments: the immediate bank-to-bank transfer with UPI”. Users should accept the WhatsApp Payments and Bank Terms and Privacy Policy to use the UPI Payment option on WhatsApp.
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On the other hand, WhatsApp was reportedly making its efforts to collaborate with SBI to launch the payments option on WhatsApp. Now with this UPI payments option, WhatsApp claims the second Facebook-owned platform to provide in-app payments.
Facebook Messenger is already offering the Payments service on its app for US users since 2015. Similarly, other messaging apps are also gearing up to launch integrating payments. Recently, Skype has tied up with PayPal to offer P2P money transfer in selected countries.
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Coming to India, Indian origin Hike has rolled out Hike Wallet (in-app payments) back in June. Now, WhatsApp is considering India as the largest market to offer UPI Payments option in India. However, Indian banks should merge their systems with the messaging app to offer UPI payments on WhatsApp. As of now, all leading banks have their own UPI apps for their customers.
“Due to the complexity of the architecture, WhatsApp is in discussions with the State Bank of India, NPCI and few other banks to devise ways to integrate their systems with the bank and with NPCI,” says, a senior SBI official.
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Yet, WhatsApp Payments feature is something which the app developer is aiming to make the ‘Digital Transactions Lead’ in India.
“India is an important country for WhatsApp, and we understand how we can contribute more to the vision of Digital India. We’re exploring how we might work with companies that share this vision,” a WhatsApp spokesperson had said in a statement.
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