WhatsApp to allow users to send money through the app
What's the story
WhatsApp has started testing out its Payment feature in India which will allow users to send and receive money through the chat app. The feature is based on the Indian government's Unified Payments Interface (UPI), a real-time payment system that merges several bank accounts into a single platform. It is being tested on WhatsApp beta version 2.18.21 for iOS and version 2.18.41 for Android.
Details
Here's how the Payment feature will work on WhatsApp
Once live, users will be able to access the feature from their chat windows, through the Attachments menu. There, they can click on the Payment option and choose a bank from a list of the same. Users can then connect their preferred bank account with the UPI platform. For the transaction to be successful, both the parties need to have the WhatsApp Payment feature.
Information
To access the new feature, users need a UPI account
Notably, if this is your first UPI-based transaction, you will have to create a UPI account on the UPI app. Post that, you will be asked to create an authentication pin that will be used to confirm all your future transactions through the UPI platform.
Context
Google, Zomato getting on-board with UPI-based payments too
WhatsApp has been planning to roll out the Payment feature on its platform since July 2017. And the company is not alone. Other big players like Samsung, Zomato, and Google are all trying to incorporate UPI-based payments onto their platforms ever since the government announced it in 2016. The new feature, given WhatsApp's massive user base, is expected to boost the government's Digital India campaign.