WhatsApp rolls out digital payments service in India

WhatsApp has rolled out the UPI-based payments feature in India. The company has already started testing the Unified Payments Interface (UPI) functionality to integrate peer-to-peer payment system in the app.

The new UPI integration feature is available for select WhatsApp beta users on iOS (2.18.21) and Android (2.18.41), enabling users to send and receive money using the Indian government's UPI standard. This new feature can be accessed in a chat window and can be found alongside other options such as Video, Gallery, Documents and others in the Attachments menu.

After clicking on Payments option, a disclaimer window will show up a list of banks. From there, users can select their preferred bank account to connect with UPI. Then they have to create an authentication pin if you haven't yet used the UPI payments program. Moreover, if don't have a UPI account then you have to create one through the UPI app or your respective bank's website/ app.

The payments platform's integration may give boost digital payments in India, considering the number of active users on the platform in the country. Moreover, with the new feature, users could instantly transfer their funds between two people or a bank account directly through WhatsApp. Furthermore, both the sender and receiver need to have the WhatsApp Payments feature to successfully transact on the app.