WhatsApp rolls out payment service in India
Whatsapp UPI payment: WhatsApp on Thursday announced that it has started rolling out its UPI-powered 'payments service in India' allowing people to send money through WhatsApp. The National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) on Thursday granted approval for WhatsApp to launch on UPI in a graded manner.
Initially, WhatsApp can expand to 2 crore users. The Facebook-owned messaging platform started testing the payments service in India with 10 lakh users in early 2018.
It stated that "people across India will be able to send money through WhatsApp." The Whatsapp UPI payment is said to be a secured manner to transfer money.
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"This secure payments experience makes transferring money just as easy as sending a message. People can 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," it said in a statement.
WhatsApp has designed payments feature in partnership with the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) using the Unified Payment Interface (UPI), an India-first, real-time payment system that enables transactions with over 160 supported banks, it said.
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"We’re excited to join India’s campaign to increase the ease and use of digital payments, which is helping expand financial inclusion in India," the company said.
"To send money on WhatsApp in India, it’s necessary to have a bank account and debit card in India. It sends instructions to banks, also known as payment service providers, that initiate the transfer of money via UPI between sender and receiver bank accounts."
The tech-giant is working with five leading banks in India: ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank, Axis Bank, the State Bank of India, and Jio Payments Bank. People can send money on WhatsApp to anyone using a UPI supported app.
-PTC News
