Hundreds of millions of WhatsApp users in India will be able to pay for products and services through the chat app, as its parent company Meta seeks to generate more revenue from the messaging service in its biggest market.
Shoppers from Wednesday will be able to buy products and services from businesses using credit and debit cards, WhatsApp Pay and India’s public digital payments network UPI, the company said. Companies will not be charged for the in-app payments but Meta stands to benefit from an increase in businesses using WhatsApp, who pay to message their customers.
“We’re making it easier to complete a purchase directly in the chat,” WhatsApp said in a blog on Wednesday as a business messaging summit in Mumbai got under way.