WhatsApp has made its payment feature live to selected users in India. The payment service is based on India’s Unified Payments Interface (UPI), using which users will send and receive money directly via WhatsApp Messenger.
At present, not all users have been provided with the Payments option in the app as it has been rolled out to limited users on iOS and Android.
The introduced feature will appear in ‘Settings’ and will allow for direct bank transfers integrating with India’s UPI. The Facebook-owned firm has partnered with ICICI Bank for encouraging UPI payments.
Users will have to acknowledge the terms and conditions and verify their mobile number again via SMS to activate UPI. The list of Banks supported on UPI is rather broad. Known banks like HDFC, Axis, ICICI, SBI, Yes Bank, Allahabad Bank, Punjab National Bank, etc all are on the list.
How to get, send and receive money?
Here’s the step-by-step guide on what you have to do to use the feature:
- To facilitate the payment service, you will find the Payment Option in the settings of WhatsApp.
- Once here, you will have to select the ‘add a bank account’ option and agree to its terms and conditions. After that, you will be requested to verify your number.
- After your number has been verified, the list of banks will show up. Now, choose the bank with which you have an account and ensure that your bank account is already linked to UPI.
- After that you would need to add details of your bank account, so make sure you have the information available. What’s more, from that point onward, you can begin with.
- Now, for the real transaction, go to any person or group chat and select the individual to whom you want to transfer the amount. Select the ‘Attachment’ option where you would be able to see the option to send money. You will have to enter the amount after which, your UPI pin or the OTP will complete the transaction.
You can likewise invite your friends to use the service.
WhatsApp says it will now include “the ability to send and receive payments through designated payment service providers (“PSPs”) in India (“Payments”).” The terms and conditions add that WhatsApp is not a licensed financial institution, do not receive, transfer, or store any funds in connection with Payments, and are not responsible for UPI service interruptions or acts or omissions of PSPs or your bank including the payment, settlement, and clearance of funds. You have a separate relationship with your bank regarding your bank account, and WhatsApp has no affiliation with your bank in this respect.”
WhatsApp hasn’t officially introduced the feature for everyone yet. But considering that it has already made its way to the recent beta versions for both iOS and Android, the feature is most likely to be announced very soon.
The initiative is viewed as one of the greatest lifts to the digital payment landscape in India. In front of WhatsApp’s payment service, Paytm, India’s popular digital wallet platform has also introduced its messaging service ‘Paytm Inbox’.
Apart from Paytm, Hike and Truecaller have also introduced peer-to-peer money sharing feature on their platforms. Google late last year joined the mobile commerce segment with Google Tez, which lets users make and request payments vis-a-vis friends. Google in December last year revealed the platform had gone past 140 million transactions and has over 12 million monthly active users.
WhatsApp, however, has a high ground over the opposition considering the huge client base in the nation. The stage has more than 200 million clients in India, one of its greatest markets in the world.
The payment service has been rolled out shortly after WhatsApp launched ‘WhatsApp Business’, an application making it less demanding for business users to interface with clients and the other way around.
Its a great news for all Whatsapp users
Very informative post
Thanks for sharing