WhatsApp Pay CONFIRMED! Platform to be launched in India in soon, says global head

After huge delays, the popular instant messenger app, WhatsApp is all set to roll out its peer-to-peer, UPI-based Pay service in India this year. The Whatsapp Pay will provide services to over 300 million users, especially the small and medium businesses (SMBs) in India, later this year. WhatsApp, Global Head, Will Cathcart announced that the company has rolled up its sleeves to launch its much awaited platform in India in 2019 itself - more than half of  the year is already over. 

WhatsApp also launched a test run of its payments service with one million users in the country last year which got stuck in the digital payments framework guidelines but now, the service is in the final stages.

Here are the highlights:

1. Speaking at the event, Niti Aayog CEO Amitabh Kant said Facebook-owned WhatsApp was delayed in meeting India's regulatory norms to launch its digital payments service. We look forward to WhatsApp Pay in India once it fulfills all the regulatory requirements.

2. Cathcart said, "To boost digital inclusion in India, we can launch the (Pay) service across the country later this year after meeting regulations. 

3. India's digital payments industry is estimated to hit $1 trillion by 2023 and there are number of digital payment based service apps coming up to fill the gap. 

4. According to a report by Omidyar Network and the Boston Consulting Group (BCG), nearly half of MSME owners with annual business revenue between Rs 3 lakh and Rs 75 crore would use WhatsApp Payments once it is fully rolled out.

5. WhatsApp Pay would create a huge opportunity for the MSMEs to go digital.

6. Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg in April announced that the company is actively working on to launch WhatsApp Pay in India.

7. WhatsApp currently has over 300 million users in India (Facebook has another 300 million in the country) and once it starts peer-to-peer (P2P) UPI-based Pay service, the sheer numbers will take it beyond Paytm which last reported over 230 million users.

8. The company has told the Supreme Court that it would comply with the Reserve Bank of India's (RBI) data localisation norms before launching the full payments service in the country.