WhatsApp starts payment service in India
New Delhi: WhatsApp on Friday said it is rolling out its payments services in India after receiving nod from the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI).
In 2018, the Facebook-owned company had started testing its UPI-based payments service in India, which allows users to utilise the messaging platform to send and receive money. The testing was limited to about a million users as it waited for regulatory approvals to come in.
On Thursday, NPCI - which runs the Unified Payments Interface (UPI) used for real-time payments between peers or at merchants' end while making purchases - allowed WhatsApp to start its payments service in the country in a "graded" manner, starting with a maximum registered user base of 20 million in UPI.
"Starting today, people across India will be able to send money through WhatsApp. This secure payments experience makes transferring money just as easy as sending a message. People can safely send money to a family member or share the cost of goods from a distance without having to exchange cash in person or going to a local bank," WhatsApp said in a blogpost.
It added that the payments feature has been designed in partnership with NPCI using UPI, an India-first, real-time payment system that enables transactions with over 160 supported banks.
In June this year, WhatsApp had launched 'WhatsApp Pay' in Brazil - making it the first country where the service was widely rolled out.
In India, WhatsApp - which counts India as its biggest market with over 400 million users - will compete with players like Paytm, Google Pay, Walmart-owned PhonePe and Amazon Pay.
"Payments (service) on WhatsApp is now available for people on the latest version of the iPhone and Android app... We're excited to join India's campaign to increase the ease and use of digital payments, which is helping expand financial inclusion in India," it said adding that users will need to have a bank account and debit card in India to send money through the platform in India.
WhatsApp said it is working with five banks in India - ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank, Axis Bank, the State Bank of India, and Jio Payments Bank - and people can send money on WhatsApp to anyone using a UPI supported app.
"In the long run, we believe the combination of WhatsApp and UPI's unique architecture can help local organisations address some of the key challenges of our time, including increasing rural participation in the digital economy and delivering financial services to those who have never had access before," it added.
WhatsApp noted that its payments service is designed with a strong set of security and privacy principles, including entering a personal UPI PIN for each payment.
"There is no fee... because its WhatsApp, you know its secure and private too. With UPI, India has created something truly special and is opening up a world of opportunities for micro and small businesses that's the backbone of the Indian economy," Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg said in a video message.
He added that the payments service will be available in 10 Indian language versions of WhatsApp.
Interestingly, the approval for WhatsApp came on the same day as NPCI limited a single third party like WhatsApp or its rivals like Google Pay or Walmart's PhonePe to handle only 30 per cent of overall UPI transaction volumes by putting a cap. This is expected to allay fears of potential monopolisation.
Recently, PhonePe had announced crossing the 250 million registered user milestone and over 100 million monthly active users (MAU), and had 835 million UPI transactions in October with a market leading share of over 40 per cent.
Google had 67 million monthly active users in September last year, and on the merchant side, it had over three million active merchant's data for June 2020. Google Pay has not shared any updated stats since September 2019.
UPI processed over 2.07 billion transactions in October (worth Rs 3.86 lakh crore), up from over 1.8 billion in the previous month, as per data from NPCI.
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I have a chance to become CM of Karnataka, says Ex-Minister B Nagendra
Ballari (Karnataka), Oct 17: Congress MLA B Nagendra, who was released on bail in the multi-crore Valmiki Corporation 'scam' case, on Thursday said he has a great future as he too has a chance to become the Chief Minister of the state.
Reacting to MLA Janardhana Reddy’s statement that there were 18 criminal cases against him, Nagendra told reporters here that there are instances of people with 100 criminal cases becoming Chief Minister.
Nagendra resigned as the Tribal Welfare Minister after the Rs 89.63 crore scam in the Karnataka Maharshi Valmiki Scheduled Tribes Development Corporation came to light.
The Directorate of Enforcement had arrested him and he was released on bail after three and half months on Wednesday.
“Not just 18, but those with 100 cases became Chief Minister. In the coming days I too have a great future. If I work dedicatedly for the Congress, why shouldn’t I become the Chief Minister?” the former minister asked.
He said, “Didn’t Congress make an ordinary worker like me a minister? Congress has a tradition of honouring ordinary workers.”
On his meeting with Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, he said he explained to him about the irregularities in the Valmiki Corporation.
“In the last three months, I could not discuss with him anything. After my sudden arrest, I could not speak to him. I told him about the incident that happened,” Nagendra said.
Regarding the scam, the Congress MLA said the irregularities gave him immense pain because he and the state government want that not a single rupee should be allowed to go.
“We have recovered Rs 79 crore. Karnataka’s SIT is the only institution which has recovered 99 per cent of the amount. Only Rs three crore has to be recovered. We will not let go even a single rupee. We will not spare these thieves,” he said.
Questioning those accused of being behind the scam, he sought to know whether money was recovered from him.
“Has the money recovered from me? The SIT has given me a clean chit. After the SIT gave me a clean chit, they (BJP) were afraid that the Congress will regain strength in Ballari. Hence they decided to ruin me. However, the court took note of it and granted me bail. I will come out clean in this case,” Nagendra said.
According to him, he was targeted because he is a growing leader and the BJP was not able to tolerate him because he takes everyone along.
He accused the BJP of attempting to destabilise the Congress government in Karnataka.
“When did BJP come to power on its own in Karnataka? Though we won 134 out of 224 seats in the assembly election, the BJP is trying to make petty attempts to destabilise our government.”
To a question will he would become minister again, Nagendra said the matter is left to the party high command.
“The court has granted bail. I am confident. It is left to the Chief Minister, high command and party president and Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar. Whatever decision they take, I will stick to it,” the MLA said.
