This announcement marks the official launch of WhatsApp’s new service as NPCI is the body set up by the central bank and lenders to oversee payment services. Four banks will join United Payments Interface (UPI) - which powers the payments service - for WhatsApp, NPCI said. At present, India’s third-biggest lender ICICI Bank processes the fund transfers on WhatsApp, the application shows.
Recently, WhatsApp launched a limited service in India, where it has more than 200 million users. This uses customers’ phone numbers linked to bank accounts to facilitate payments and marks the first global foray into money transfers by the Facebook-owned company, according to Reuters.
WhatsApp’s popularity in India is likely to pose a threat to established players. Paytm, which is backed by Alibaba and SoftBank expressed concerns about the security of WhatsApp’s new payments service, the online publication continues.
Every day we send out a free e-mail with the most important headlines of the last 24 hours.
Subscribe now