WhatsApp has announced updates to its chat composer that will cater to its user base in India. The changes are meant to make payments through WhatsApp easier for Indian users, by letting them scan QR codes or use the symbol on the chat app.
The new updates were revealed by WhatsApp at the Global FinTech Festival (GFF) 2021, which marks its last day today. As for what they are, WhatsApp will now allow the use of the symbol in its chat composer. The company says that the symbol will make it easier for people to send money to their contacts or make payments through WhatsApp, more so for native language users of the app in India.
In addition, the company announced that the Camera icon in Composer now lets users scan any QR code. The QR codes will help make payments "at more than 20 million stores in India," WhatsApp states. WhatsApp says that it has already started the rollout of these features in India and all users should receive them soon.
WhatsApp however, has the distinct advantage of being the largest chat app in the world. So it is sure to grow big on the peer-to-peer transactions happening in India. Though UPI payments might not have that benefit, with the process understandably being just as on other apps like Paytm and Google Pay.
For this, WhatsApp was earlier spotted working on a cashback feature for WhatsApp Payments users in India. It hinted that the app might soon offer cashback to users making payments through WhatsApp Payments. The report mentioned that the feature will roll out in a future update and will only be applicable on UPI payments.
Other such updates to enthral users include the ability to add payments backgrounds while sending money to friends from WhatsApp Payments. The feature was rolled out back in August and works just like Google Pay’s payments background feature.
The continuous efforts are being made to compensate for a lacklustre opening of the Payments feature in India. It was first rolled out to 20 million users in India in November 2020, but until the first quarter of this year, WhatsApp accounted for only 0.02% of UPI volumes and 0.01% of the transaction value in India, as per NPCI monthly data. Though the dismal numbers were blamed on the lack of marketing and integration push across India at the time. This approach has clearly changed now.
As the Director Payments, WhatsApp India - Manesh Mahatme states, "2/3rds of India is still rural, and will see benefits of digital innovations in the years to come." WhatsApp clearly wants to be a major service provider in this area. With the large and active user base it already has, and a constant push, it is likely to achieve its goal in the months to come.
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