After being stuck in regulatory hurdles since 2018, WhatsApp Pay finally rolled out to users but it did not get the desired response.
According to data released by the National Payments Corporation of India (NCPI), the app only mobilised 310,000 unified payments interface (UPI) transactions for the month of November.
In October, WhatsApp Pay had 70,000 transactions worth Rs 9.32 crore.
This number comes as a disappointment to the messaging app which hoped to leveraged its 400 million-strong userbase in India.
One of the reasons for the passive response may be that the app was not made available to all users at the same time. But experts quoted by Mint say that the app can catch up to the current market leaders Google Pay and PhonePe if they offer attractive discounts and cashback offers.
According to NPCI data, Google Pay and PhonePe dominated the digital payments market with over 86% share of UPI payments in October.
Google Pay was used to carry out UPI transactions worth Rs 1,65,654.71 crore in October, while Rs 1,68,085.06 crore worth of transactions were done via PhonePe.
WhatsApp will have to put in efforts to become a major player of the market. Arnav Gupta, an analyst at Forrester Research, told the publication that the feature is yet to get the required publicity. “Many users still do not know that WhatsApp has payments capability. As users start interacting with business and when businesses start sending payment requests via UPI, gradually we will see transactions grow on WhatsApp too,” he said.
WhatsApp, as a messaging app is a base for many businesses, as they share videos and products with their customers through it. They are also a major group of customers for the app to tap.
Published 10 December 2020, 06:31 IST