WhatsApp announced its plans to introduce credit card payments and integrate services from competing digital payment providers within its app in India, marking another strategic move by Meta, the parent company of WhatsApp, to enhance its commerce offerings in its largest market.
WhatsApp boasts a user base of over 500 million in India, but regulatory constraints have limited its in-app WhatsApp Pay service to only 100 million users. Previously, users shopping on WhatsApp had to use external platforms like Alphabet Inc.’s Google Pay, Paytm, or Walmart’s PhonePe for payments, necessitating redirection outside the WhatsApp app.
Now, Meta has revealed that payments through these rival services, as well as any others operating on India’s instant money transfer system UPI, will be directly possible within WhatsApp. Additionally, new in-app options for credit and debit card payments will be introduced.
These enhancements align with Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s vision of making business messaging a significant driver of the company’s sales growth, particularly as Meta’s core advertising business and metaverse project face challenges.
While the user limit for WhatsApp Pay remains in effect in India, there are no such restrictions on the number of users permitted to engage in transactions with businesses on WhatsApp using alternative payment methods, as confirmed by a Meta spokesperson.
With approximately 300 million individuals conducting around $180 billion in transactions via India’s UPI each month, these new transaction options could serve as a compelling incentive for businesses to pay Meta for access to WhatsApp’s vast user base.
