WhatsApp adds rival in-app payment options in India commerce push
The HinduWhatsApp said on Wednesday that it will offer credit card payments and services from rival digital payment providers within its app in India, the latest bet by the Meta-owned service to boost commerce offerings in its biggest market. People shopping on WhatsApp could also pay using popular services like Alphabet Inc’s Google Pay, Paytm and Walmart’s PhonePe but only after being redirected outside WhatsApp. Payments via those rival services – and any others that run on India’s instant money transfer system UPI – will now be possible directly within WhatsApp, Meta said in a blog post. With some 300 million people spending about $180 billion via India’s using UPI each month, the new transaction options could serve as a powerful lure to attract businesses to pay Meta for access to WhatsApp users. Moving forward, the new payment tools will be available to any company in India that uses WhatsApp’s business platform, which mainly serves large companies, according to the blog post.