Whatsapp has initiated the testing of its payments service in India with 1 million users in first stages of 2018, now the application has finally began the expanding of the feature to bring it to more users in the world’s second largest internet marketplace.
The official statement by Whatsapp stated that it is bringing out payments in ten Indian local languages in the most up-to-date version of WhatsApp app on both mobile softwares i.e. Android and iOS. The announcement was released several hours after National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI), the organization that runs the standard UPI payments arrangement, stating that it had approved WhatsApp to roll out UPI-powered payments in the state.
Similar to Google and a number of other companies, WhatsApp has assembled its payments facility over UPI, a payments set-up built by a alliance of large banks in India. NPCI stated that WhatsApp, the application which has accumulated over 400 million users in India, can increase payments to its consumers in a “graded manner,” and in the beginning, it can only give out the payments facility to a number of 20 million users and has to work with several banking allies. WhatsApp said that it is working with five primary banks in India including
- ICICI Bank
- HDFC Bank
- Axis Bank
- The State Bank of India
- Jio Payments Bank.
Google and Walmart at this time lead the mobile payments marketplace in India, collectively imposing approximately 80% of the UPI market share. UPI has developed as the most widespread digital payments system in India. Facebook’s CEO, Mark Zukerberg said: “With UPI, India has created something truly special and is opening up a world of opportunities for micro and small businesses that are the backbone of the Indian economy. India is the first country to do anything like this. I’m glad we were able to support this effort and work together to help achieve a more digital India. I want to thank all our partners who’ve made this possible. When people can access financial tools, they’re more empowered to support themselves and others, or start a business. Long term, we need more innovation that gives people control over their money, and making payments easier is a small step that can really help,”
