Facebook first conceptualised the WhatsApp Payments for India almost two years ago, but couldn't get the statutory approval from the state-run National Payments Corporation of India as the latter had asked the company to first set up a local data storage center to protect Indian user's privacy.
However, Facebook not deterred by the delay went ahead by launching the WhatsApp Payments service in Brazil early this year in June, as it has quite a substantial user-base in the South American country. However, within a week, the Central Bank of Brazil suspended WhatsApp Payments as it needs some time to analyse the service to preserve an adequate competitive environment in Brazil. Also, ensure it is safe and secure for customers to do hassle-free money transactions. Facebook is also testing WhatsApp Payments even in Mexico.
Thursday (November 5) night, Facebook announced that the NPCI has finally given the official nod to start the WhatsApp Payments in India. The service, which was under testing with more than one million testers, is finally being rolled out to both the Android and iOS versions from Friday (November 6) onwards.
The company has tied up with five banks-- ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank, Axis Bank, the State Bank of India, and Jio Payments Bank in India.
Like Google Pay, Paytm and PhonePe, WhatsApp Payments works on Unified Payments Interface (UPI), and users can link their bank account and do direct cash transfer in an instant.
All major payments players in India use the UPI framework, built by NPCI, for services such as peer-to-peer money transfer, utility payments, and phone recharges.
It should be noted that NCPI has asked WhatsApp to expand its user base in a graded manner starting with a maximum registered user base of 20 million. Currently, WhatsApp has more than 400 million user-base.
In October, UPI processed over 2.07 billion transactions, up from over 1.8 billion the previous month.
Here's the official transcript of Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg on WhatsApp Payments launch in India:
Hey everyone -- I hope you and your families are staying home and healthy. I am excited today that WhatsApp has been approved to launch payments across India.
Now you can send money to your friends and family through WhatsApp as easily as sending a message. There’s no fee, and it’s supported by more than 140 banks. And because it’s WhatsApp, it’s secure and private too.Digital payments is really important right now. It’s safer than handing someone cash and eliminates the need from standing in line at the bank. So you can quickly send money to families and friends that may be miles away across the country.
We’ve been working on this with the National Payments Corporation of India, who oversee everything to make sure it’s secure and reliable. And we’ve built it using India’s Unified Payments Interface, which makes it easy for anyone to instantly accept payments across different apps -- and for companies to provide people with great services.
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.
Payments is available now in ten Indian regional language versions of WhatsApp. All you need is a debit card with a bank that supports UPI and you can set it up straight away. You can find it in the latest version of WhatsApp- Mark Zuckerberg
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