WhatsApp is set to join the long list of companies working on providing a payment option to their users. As per recent reports, the chat-based platform is set to roll-out a new feature that will enable WhatsApp users to make fund transfers from within the app itself.
The feature on which the company has apparently been working for the past few months may see the limelight within the coming months and what’s more, WhatsApp may roll it out first in India, thanks to its largest user base in the country.
WhatsApp Pay, as the new feature is expected to be called, is reportedly in its final testing phase. Reports also reveal that the Facebook-owned company has tied up with SBI, ICICI and HDFC as the bank partners for the feature, which will essentially work on a UPI based payment method.
The feature will reveal a ‘Rupees’ symbol under the ‘Attachment’ option in a WhatsApp chat. Using this, users can make fund transfers through a simple one-step process by entering the amount to be transferred and the UPI PIN. The added convenience is that users will not have to exit the chat screens in order to make the payments.
A similar trend was adopted by the Chinese equivalent of WhatsApp – WeChat. Being a chat platform, WeChat had launched a payment option for its users and since then, has become a major player in the payments market. If WhatsApp is able to roll-out this feature efficiently, it may become a tough competitor for the existing payment platforms in India including Paytm, Mobikwik and others.
