Who would’ve imagined sending money to your friends and family would one day become as effortless as sending a text via your favourite instant messaging app?
Over the past five years, the digital payments landscape in India has undergone a rapid transformation, with several tech giants now entering the fray. Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ: META) ventured into this arena by introducing its payment service on WhatsApp in late 2020, letting Indian users send money to anyone using a UPI-supported app.
Nearly three years later – after failing to capture a sizeable share of the UPI payment market – the social media behemoth is poised to redefine the essence of digital payments by expanding its payment options on WhatsApp within India. This ambitious move is driven by a strategic vision to enhance its commerce capabilities, particularly in its largest user base region, APAC.
Operating under the expansive Meta umbrella, WhatsApp has entered strategic partnerships with payment industry titans PayU and homegrown Razorpay. Together, they offer businesses a diverse array of payment options right from within the WhatsApp platform, including credit and debit cards, net banking, and compatibility with all UPI apps widely used in India.
In simpler terms, WhatsApp users in India will soon be able to make seamless payments to businesses by selecting any payment method without ever leaving the messaging app.
WhatsApp’s decision to integrate UPI apps and other payment methods in India comes on the heels of its fruitful partnership with Stripe in Singapore earlier this year. It allows Whatsapp users in Singapore to make in-app payments to businesses conveniently. To demonstrate its financial muscles, Meta also introduced merchant payments within the WhatsApp app in Brazil just a few months ago.
“This is going to make it even easier for people to pay Indian businesses within a WhatsApp chat using whatever method they prefer,” said Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg.
WhatsApp has confirmed that the new payment feature is available on its business platform.
A closer look, however, depicts a different picture about the journey and success of WhatsApp in India’s Payment arena. Let us take a deep dive to understand the adoption of the newly launched WhatsApp payment feature for businesses in India and explore the reasons behind the lukewarm response received despite having more than 500 million users in the country.
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What are your thoughts on WhatsApp’s payment features, which enable Indians to conduct their shopping and other digital activities seamlessly within the chat app? Are there any specific digital payment apps that you prefer to use? Let us know in the comment section below.
