WhatsApp Payments will witness a phenomenal growth as the Facebook-owned messaging platform, has received permission from NPCI to expand its payments user base to 40 million.
WhatsApp has 400 million users, and the new feature will help the network compete more effectively against established competitors like Google Pay and Phone Pe.
The WhatsApp Payments possibility had been eyed by the US-based corporation for some time, but data localisation rules had caused a delay at first.
The development comes at a time when regulators are expressing unequivocal concerns about big tech’s role in the financial sector.
NPCI approves 21 third-party payments application providers
According to the NPCI website, 21 third-party application providers, including WhatsApp Payments, have been approved to provide payment services via the Unified Payments Interface (UPI).
Manesh Mahatme, the director of payments at WhatsApp India, reacted to the news by saying that the firm is excited to grow its user base.
“We’ve been trying to create a simple, reliable, and safe experience for WhatsApp users since our original permission from NPCI,” Mahatme added, “with the hopes of accelerating adoption of UPI for the ‘next five hundred million’ Indians.”
“Over the next six months, we aim to make major investments in WhatsApp payments across India — including many more ‘India-first’ features — that we are certain will drive our growth,” he added.
