WhatsApp Payments feature has made its way to the Indian market which will mean that messaging app users can start sending money to other users on the platform. The digital peer-to-peer payments service dubbed WhatsApp Payments is available to select users in India which will mean that you can now start sending money to other WhatsApp users. WhatsApp’s over 200 million monthly active users in India can benefit from the new digital payment service.
The WhatsApp Payments feature is currently available to limited users in India. The new feature integrates with Unified Payments Interface (UPI). This will also mean that WhatsApp may start competing with Paytm, Google Tez, PhonePe, MobiKwik and other wallet companies. Though the WhatsApp Payments will be limited to peer-to-peer payment and may not initially offer merchant payment.
WhatsApp seems to have launched the digital payments service in India before rest of the world. A few weeks back, the company focusing on how small businesses communicate with their customers in India launched WhatsApp Business, a free-to-download Android app for small businesses.
Notably, the instant messaging company was rumored to be working on the digital payments feature for a long time. Last month an ET report claimed that WhatsApp was in the process of integrating its Unified Payments Interface (UPI) with several Indian banks such as HDFC, State Bank of India, ICICI and Axis bank.
Known for early WhatsApp leaks, WABetainfo points out that the Airtel users in India have mostly seen the new feature. “Don’t worry. If you haven’t the Payment option in WhatsApp, you have to wait. The rollout is very slow and it may be necessary one day, two days or also weeks. I don’t know if this is a coincidence but seems many Indian users with the “Airtel” Carrier have Payments in WhatsApp,” WABetainfo said in a tweet.
How to get started with WhatsApp Payments
Currently, select users have received the new digital payments service dubbed “WhatsApp Payments” but in the coming weeks, it is likely to be available to a wider user base.
Users can check their Settings page for WhatsApp which will start showing a brand new option for Payments. Notably, the digital payment feature is visible to users on both iOS and Android.
To get started with “WhatsApp Payments,” people will have to tap on the Payments option from the Settings page of the app. Users then will be taken to a brand new page with a tag that will say “Send and receive money securely with UPI.” Here users will have to tap on “Accept and Continue” to start accepting the WhatsApp Payments. The users will be also offered the Terms and Privacy policy and the payment provider’s terms and privacy policy.
Users then will have to verify their phone numbers by choosing “Verify via SMS” and that can be done by tapping on the green colored send button on the next screen to send a verification SMS from your phone. It’s worth noting that the SMS charges will be applicable.
Once configured, users will be able to send money to other users on WhatsApp from within the chat. The screenshots confirm that users can tap on the menu in any chat to access Payment option apart from offer options like send photo, video, file, contact, or location.
Based on the leaked screenshots, it is clear that WhatsApp has managed to get all major banks for its new WhatsApp Payments feature. Some of the Indian banks listed in the WhatsApp Payments for supported UPI integration include Axis Bank, HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank, State Bank of India, Yes Bank, Airtel Payments Bank, Allahabad Bank, Andhra Bank, Bank of Baroda, and more.
SOURCE: TIMES
