WhatsApp is preparing to launch a UPI-based digital payment service this year: Report

WhatsApp is reportedly working on a digital payment system using UPI. The service is expected to launch this year. The report was published on The Ken and we haven’t yet been able to independently confirm the report. If the report is to be believed, however, WhatsApp is hiring someone to head a digital transaction business in India, someone with expertise in Aadhaar, UPI and Bhim. The report suggests that the WhatsApp-based peer-to-peer payment system will launch in about 6 months’ time. Facebook-owned WhatsApp is among the largest digital communication platforms in India and is ubiquitous. With over 200 million users aboard the platform, digital transactions can only get a boost from such a move. However, one must never forget that this is Facebook we’re talking about. Given the company’s incessant demands for user data, it’s quite possible that details of your transactions will be sent to Facebook for analysis, helping them to better target ads. Regardless, yet another digital payment platform will be welcome, if only because WhatsApp’s popularity might eliminate the need to use some of the other, less popular apps. It’s also good to hear that WhatsApp is working on integrating Bhim and UPI rather than developing a payment service of its own.