Earlier, the Samsung Pay feature was released for users in India and now WhatsApp, the Facebook owned company has joined the group.
Housing one of the largest population in the world, India has attracted all top companies from around the world to introduce digital payment methods. The demonetization and the introduction of digital wallets in the country has prompted the app to introduce a peer to peer payment system.
Payment solutions like Paytm and Mobikwik already exists in the country. However, Samsung Pay did have a good start and now WhatsApp wants to make sure they utilize the population in the country to its best extent. India has the largest user base for the app that prompted the company to hold talks with the government to enable them to use UPI services.
UPI is a new payment system introduced by National Payments Corporation of India NPCI and it allows third party services to send or receive money using a message. The concept is very similar to sending a text message making it the fastest means to transfer money without any difficulty. Your phone number and other details will be connected to your bank account for additional security. Similar to Paytm, it is expected that WhatsApp will introduce a digital wallet system where you can transfer money and keep it for quick transactions.
Also Read : Paytm Announces Cashless, Non-Internet Based Transactions Feature in India
“India has a prominent role to play in the growth of WhatsApp with its massive user base and with the new Digital India initiative, we want to make sure we provide ways for the country to grow into other sectors seamlessly,” said a spokesperson from the company.
A couple of weeks ago, Brian Acton, founder of WhatsApp had a meet with India officials and government bodies. The latest introduction of being able to send money through the app is being connected with this meet as sources opine that it was to talk and sign the papers before the feature could be rolled out.
A couple of other apps are also eyeing the market so as to become the sole choice to transfer money back and forth. However, considering the popularity of WhatsApp it could very well become the numero uno app for transfers if done right. The Prime Minister of the country earlier launched BHIM app for money transfers. There is no word on WhatsApp bringing the payment feature to other countries anytime soon but it is a possibility in the future.