Zoho Arattai to work with other platforms like UPI; Sridhar Vembu says don't want to keep it closed like WhatsApp

arattai

Zoho Arattai app has become popular and has managed to get over 100x downloads and new sign ups in just couple of days. The messaging app is being considered as first made-in-India WhatsApp altearnative and even IT minister and Union Minister have endorsed the app. Zoho founder Sridhar Vembu has said the company wants to make the Arattai app interoperable like UPI in a post on X.

Vembu also mentioned that Zoho is working with iSpirt, the group that played a pivotal role in developing the Unified Payments Interface (UPI), to standardise and publish messaging protocols for Arattai. He emphasised that the goal is to make messaging interoperable across platforms, similar to UPI and email, rather than adopting a closed ecosystem like WhatsApp.

In the social media post, Vembu said discussions have been initiated with Sharad Sharma, co-founder of iSpirt. The non-profit technology think tank was instrumental in architecting UPI, which has become India’s most widely used digital payments system with over 13 billion transactions in August 2025. Vembu noted that Sharma, a long-time associate and friend, will guide Zoho in pursuing interoperability for Arattai.

On Arattai, we have initiated discussions with Sharad Sharma of iSpirt, the group that did the technical work to make UPI happen, to standardize and publish the messaging protocols. I am a huge fan of UPI and hugely respect the work the team did. Sharad is a good friend and he…

— Sridhar Vembu (@svembu) September 30, 2025

“Messaging systems need to be interoperable like UPI and email, and not closed like WhatsApp today,” Vembu said. He added that Zoho does not want Arattai to become a monopoly. Currently, closed platforms like WhatsApp, Telegram, and Signal do not allow cross-platform communication, limiting user choice and increasing dependency on individual companies.

Interoperable protocols could significantly change the Indian messaging landscape, much like UPI transformed payments. According to government data, UPI’s open standardization has led to more than 350 million monthly active users across multiple apps, including PhonePe, Google Pay, and Paytm. Industry experts say a similar open model in messaging could reduce platform lock-in and encourage innovation.