The Facebook-owned company said WhatsApp 'Payments' feature is now available to users across the country. There are currently up to 20 million WhatsApp payment users with support from banking partners like State Bank of India, HDFC, ICICI and Axis Bank.
WhatsApp has designed its payments feature on National Payments Corporation of India's (NPCI) Unified Payment Interface (UPI) system. (Representational Image)WhatsApp is set to enter the insurance business in India! The Company today said that it expects to facilitate the purchase of “affordable sachet-sized” health insurance through its platform by the end of the year as part of its efforts to provide users in India with greater access to financial solutions.
The Facebook-owned company said WhatsApp ‘Payments’ feature is now available to users across the country. There are currently up to 20 million WhatsApp payment users with support from banking partners like State Bank of India, HDFC, ICICI and Axis Bank.
“WhatsApp is deeply committed to India with over 400 million active users, this is our largest market. Our primary focus will always be to provide the most simple, reliable, private and secure experience for people to connect with each other. However, in India we are also building on four other pillars,” WhatsApp India Head Abhijit Bose was quoted by PTI as saying at the Facebook Fuel for India 2020 event.
Bose further said that WhatsApp wants to help further digitise and scale the small business ecosystem of India, make it easier for consumers to connect with and buy from their favourite businesses, and build digital payments across all segments, especially for underserved users in India.
WhatsApp said in a statement that by the end of this year, buying affordable health insurance coverage from SBI General leveraging WhatsApp, will become a reality.
Also, with HDFC Pensions and pinBox solutions, WhatsApp platform will be leveraged to help enable savings for retirement that will be especially beneficial for people who do not have organised employment benefits or a retirement corpus to fall back on, it added.
WhatsApp has designed its payments feature on National Payments Corporation of India’s (NPCI) Unified Payment Interface (UPI) system. The company was granted approvals to go live recently in November this year on a peer-to-peer (P2P) basis, enabling people to transfer money.
“We have been approved to launch payment services using UPI, which is truly a revolutionary platform from India, which I believe will become a template for the world,” Bose said.
Do you know What is ? FE Knowledge Desk explains each of these and more in detail at Financial Express Explained. Also get Live BSE/NSE Stock Prices, latest NAV of Mutual Funds, Best equity funds, Top Gainers, Top Losers on Financial Express. Don’t forget to try our free Income Tax Calculator tool.
Financial Express is now on Telegram. Click here to join our channel and stay updated with the latest Biz news and updates.
State Bank Of India
HDFC Bank
Axis Bank
ICICI Bank
Punjab National Bank
CITI Bank
Kotak Mahindra Bank
IDFC Bank
Bank Of India
Bank Of Baroda