Facebook-owned WhatsApp has announced that it has started testing out its UPI-based payments feature in India. The new feature reportedly only available for select WhatsApp beta users on iOS and Android. It will enable users to send and receive money through the Indian government’s Unified Payments Interface (UPI) standard.
The new feature will be available on WhatsApp version 2.18.21 for iOS, and version 2.18.41 for Android. Since the messaging app has a large user base in India, the payments platform’s integration may provide an extra boost to digital payments.
It’s worth pointing out that GizmoTimes was the first spot the WhatsApp Payments feature and is now available to select users of the beta app in India. The feature can clearly be located in a chat window through the Attachments menu. Apparently, the option will be available besides other options like Gallery, Video, Documents etc. By clicking on Payments a disclaimer window will open, followed by a list of banks to choose from.
It allows users to pick your preferred bank account to connect with UPI. Prominently, you will be asked to generate an authentication pin if you haven’t still used the UPI payments platform. Moreover, users will have to create a UPI account (if you don’t have one previously) via the UPI app or through user’s respective bank’s website/ app.
FoneArena reports that both the sender and receiver will have to get the WhatsApp Payments feature to successfully transact on the messaging app. But users have been facing issues connecting their bank accounts to the app, although this is expected from a feature available in beta.
WhatsApp has been known to be considering a UPI-based payments platform since July 2017. The feature was also spotted on an Android beta version back in August last year. Ever since UPI was announced by the government, players like Samsung, Zomato, Google, and, now, WhatsApp have been looking to incorporate it on to their existing hardware and software products.