WhatsApp Payments may hire former Paytm vice president as India head: Report

tech2 News StaffSep 11, 2018 11:19:06 IST

Facebook-owned WhatsApp is expected to hire former Paytm vice president, Amit Lakhotia as the head of WhatsApp's payment services in India.

According to a report by the Economic Times, WhatsApp CEO Chris Daniels, in his recent visit to India, reportedly took interviews of prospective candidates which also included Amazon financial services' Sriraman Jagannathan, however, Jagannathan chose to keep his options open and bailed out on the opportunity.

WhatsApp for Android. Image: tech2/ Shomik Sen Bhattacharjee

The decision to hire a new payments head came when Neeraj Arora resigned from the position of head of WhatsApp payments in India to start his own fund services in the US. Subsequently, in his recent visit to India, he was supposed to hire a new payments head, as one of his last significant contributions before calling quits.

Whatsapp, reportedly, did not comment on either Arora’s exit nor on making a new hire.

Amit Lakhotia had quit Paytm in 2016.

The messaging app considers India as a prime market for payments. The service is yet to get a nod from the government. As of now, it is a UPI-based service that is running on a trial basis, only. It is yet to be given a nod from the Reserve Bank of India to launch itself officially. However, recent cases, controversies surrounding Facebook and WhatsApp such as the Cambridge Analytica data leak and mob-lynchings caused due to misinformation spread on WhatsApp has only delayed its plans.