WhatsApp Pay will display your legal name to mitigate UPI related frauds

In an FAQ posted, WhatsApp said that the requirement is set by NPCI and designed to mitigate fraud across the UPI payments system. “WhatsApp uses the phone number associated with your account to identify your bank account through UPI. The name associated with your bank account is the name that will be shared,” the company said in an FAQ.

The notification that is being pushed by the Meta-owned chat platform carries a link to an FAQ page that explains the legal name requirement.

It should be noted that WhatsApp users have the choice to pick any name with the limit of 25 characters and use it on the app. Several users even use emojis as their names.

This comes as WhatsApp received clearance from the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) to expand its user base on WhatsApp Pay to 100 million from 40 million. This gave the messaging platform a certain threshold to start building products and market the service to consumers.

As a result of the NPCI clearance, WhatsApp will be able to add 60 million users to its UPI service and take on payment giant rivals such as Walmart-backed PhonePe and Google Pay, which command a majority of the transactions that happen on UPI. However, the NPCI has ensured that WhatsApp’s ability to skew the level-playing field is limited given the messaging app has over 500 million users and permitting it to offer UPI service to all the users at once could impact competition.

Meanwhile, the company also announced offering three cashback of Rs 11 each for the first three payments made to different contacts using UPI on its app.