WhatsApp has been testing its payment service in India since 2018. However, the Facebook-owned company was only recently able to expand the feature beyond the initial one million users. WhatsApp Pay is built atop Unified Payments Interface or UPI, a payments infrastructure built by a coalition of large banks in India. Here are five important things you need to know about WhatsApp’s new payment service.
Phased Rollout
WhatsApp Pay is not an individual app; it is a feature that is accessible through the WhatsApp messenger app. You can access WhatsApp Pay in the latest stable version of the WhatsApp app on Android and iOS. WhatsApp Pay is rolling out in ten Indian regional languages. WhatsApp’s new payment feature is being rolled out in a phased manner, starting with a maximum registered user base of 20 million in UPI. Considering WhatsApp has over 400 million users in India, you might have to wait a while before being able to access the payment service.
Free to Use
As with all UPI services, WhatsApp Pay is free; users won’t be charged a transaction fee. The limit for a transaction on WhatsApp’s payment service is Rs 1,00,000. WhatsApp has not yet enabled fund transfer through a bank account number or by using an IFSC code.
India-only Service
To use WhatsApp payment, you will have to link an Indian number to an Indian bank account. People using international numbers will not be able to use WhatsApp’s payment service. To make payments using the service, you’ll need a UPI passcode. However, if you already have one with an existing UPI app, you can use the same code.
Works with Third-party Apps
WhatsApp Pay can be used to transfer funds to people with UPI enabled, even if that money needs to be transferred through other apps such as Google Pay, Phone Pay, and BHIM. All you need to do is enter Google Pay, BHIM, Phone Pay or other UPI ID to transact using WhatsApp Pay.
Simple and Convenient
WhatsApp works on UPI, which is the same system used by Google Pay, BHIM, Phone pay, and other bank apps. The money that needs to be transferred through WhatsApp’s payment service can be held in your bank account; the platform will only help you to send and receive money. So, you don’t have to hold any funds in your WhatsApp wallet to use the service.
Also Read: Explainer: WhatsApp Payments goes live in India, what does this mean for the ecosystem?
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