What is WhatsApp Pay, how to enable and use it to send money from messaging app

In what could be a pivotal moment in WhatsApp’s journey in India, it has rolled out WhatsApp Pay here, after years of struggle. The new in-app feature will compete against already existing market players like Google Pay, Paytm, PhonePe, among others. WhatsApp claims that sending money through the platform will be as simple and secure as sending messages. The WhatsApp Pay has been designed in partnership with the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) using the Unified Payment Interface (UPI), an India-first, real-time payment system that enables transactions with over 140 supported banks.  

What is WhatsApp Pay? 

WhatsApp Pay is an in-chat payment feature that allows you to send money to contacts from within the app. It is UPI-based payments service that allows you to both send and receive money. The platform is currently working with five leading banks in India: ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank, Axis Bank, the State Bank of India, and Jio Payments Bank. However, it is supported by more than 140 banks. People can send money on WhatsApp to anyone using a UPI supported app.  

How to enable WhatsApp Pay? 

If you open the WhatsApp menu on your smartphone, a payments option has been added to it. To access it, you need to add a payment method and initiate a payment. WhatsApp has said that the feature will be rolled out to users over the next few days. Also, you have to make sure that you are using the latest version of WhatsApp. 

How to use WhatsApp Pay? 

Payments is available now in ten Indian regional language versions of WhatsApp. All you need is a debit card with a bank that supports UPI and you can set it up straight away. You can find it in the latest version of WhatsApp. 

To send money, users need to open the chat and tap on the share file icon, They need to select the ‘payment’ option from there. The users will also be able to check their transaction history and account details in that section.  

The payment system works on the Unified Payments Interface (UPI) method, where fund transfers can be initiated without having to provide bank account numbers and IFSC codes of recipients.