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WhatsApp is now handing out cash for making UPI payments, in a bid to get people to use them
Probably a short-term promotion, so use it while you still can
WhatsApp is not the same in every country. While the basic functionality is there for everyone around the world, some regions have exclusive features that are specifically created to make communications in that place easier. Case in point — India and Brazil support person-to-person payments through WhatsApp. The feature was first rolled out in India last year, followed by Brazil later. Over a month ago, we reported that WhatsApp users in India would soon even be eligible to earn cashback on their payments to other WhatsApp users. This feature, or rather, promotion, now seems to be rolling out to everyone.
I wish Android would let me make UPI payments like iOS 15 does
Apple just beat Google in a localized feature for India!
Apple’s increased focus on the Indian market lately is evident through various avenues, be it local manufacturing to mitigate exorbitant pricing or opening its own online store. A more recent indication comes from the iOS 15 update that brings along a list of improvements specifically designed for Indian users. But the one that caught our attention is a new camera feature that deeply integrates India’s uber-popular UPI payment system.
WhatsApp is pushing hard to get a slice of that money transfer pie, introducing mobile person-to-person payments in India and Brazil. And what's better than sending your friend a fast food combo's worth of money to cover that time you left your wallet in the car? Well, lots of things. But getting a tiny, tiny portion of that payment back in credit is probably one of them.
Google Pay is adding support for UPI payments over NFC
Faster than scanning a QR code or typing in a UPI ID
In India, Google Pay primarily revolves around sending money via UPI, the country's leading digital payment platform. It was only last year that the India-exclusive version of the app got support for debit and credit card payments over NFC. Now, Google is looking to further improve the mobile payment solution with NFC-initiated UPI payments.
WhatsApp is rolling out peer-to-peer payments in India
Using the country’s Universal Payments Interface for transactions
WhatsApp has been working on a mobile payment solution in India for a long time, with the first test runs starting all the way back in 2018. After this extensive period of trials and an unrelated (attempted) launch of the feature in Brazil, the time has finally come — Facebook has announced that it's launching Payments on WhatsApp in India.
WhatsApp Pay to start rolling out by the end of May in India
The platform could give mobile payments a boost in the country
For more than two years, WhatsApp has been working towards its own payment platform in India, and it looks like these efforts will soon pay off. As Moneycontrol reports, the company plans to launch WhatsApp Pay in cooperation with four financial institutions by the end of May. The service will be based on India's government-supported digital payment platform UPI (Universal Payment Interface).
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The Indianized version of Google Pay has cornered the largest chunk of India’s UPI market, piggybacking the username-based P2P payment system. Launched as Tez, Google rebranded the app to Pay following the global consolidation of its payment solutions, though the app retained its distinct functionality that contrasts with its stateside counterpart. About two years into its existence, the app is now getting a design change under Google’s refreshed material guidelines, tidying up some of its UI elements.
During the development and release of Tez (now rebranded as Google Pay) in India, Google worked closely with the National Payments Corporation of India to integrate Tez with UPI (Unified Payments Interface) — a system for instant interbank transfers. Since then, UPI has seen broad success. Now the US Federal Reserve is considering implementing a similar program, and Google is champing at the bit to offer its input.
UPI is the leading digital payment platform in India, which lets users make transfers directly from one bank account to another. It's already used for more than 900 million transactions a month, such as utility bill payments, mobile recharges, in-store purchases, and more. From now on, Indian users will also be able to buy content from the Play Store using the payment solution.
Thanks to a government-backed platform called UPI (Unified Payment Interface), developers are able to more easily integrate digital payments for India into their apps. Google's Tez uses UPI for bill payments, and social app Truecaller added the functionality in a recent update. The country's most used messaging app shouldn't be too far behind as Facebook-owned WhatsApp could be ready to offer a payment solution based on UPI as early as next month.