WhatsApp Pay feature now rolling out to more Indian users
Many users did not receive the feature immediately after it went live even after updating their app several times but now most users across Android and iOS seem to be getting it finally.
In Short
- WhatsApp Pay which went live in India in November last year is being rolled out to more users.
- Several WhatsApp users have reported getting a prompt on their WhatsApp app asking them to set up micropayments.
- WhatsApp Pay, as the name suggests, lets users send money from their bank accounts.
WhatsApp Pay which went live in India in November last year is being rolled out to more users. The Facebook-owned messaging app had informed that the new payments feature will be rolled out gradually to the users. Many users did not receive the feature immediately after it went live even after updating their app several times but now most users across Android and iOS seem to be getting it finally. WhatsApp Pay, as the name suggests, lets users send money from their bank accounts.
Several WhatsApp users have reported getting a prompt on their WhatsApp app asking them to set up micropayments. Users can either tap on the prompt and immediately set up their payments or do it later on the Settings menu on WhatsApp. The process of sending and receiving money is similar to how it is done on Google Pay, Paytm and other UPI apps.
About the new feature, WhatsApp had said, “This secure payment experience makes transferring money just as easy as sending a message. People can safely send money to a family member or share the cost of goods from a distance without having to exchange cash in person or going to a local bank.” The feature was designed in partnership with the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) using the Unified Payment Interface (UPI), an India-first, a real-time payment system that enables transactions with over 160 supported banks.
Here is how you can set up Payments on WhatsApp
— Go to the Settings menu on your app
— Tap on Add New Payment option given at the bottom of the screen
— You will then be redirected to a page with a list of banks
— Choose your bank from the list
— Verify your phone number via SMS
— A message will be sent from your number automatically
— You can then select a bank account linked to the phone number
— Tap on the bank account you want to add
— You can now send and receive payments to and from your WhatsApp account
Noticeably, WhatsApp has said that the broader rollout comes weeks after May 15, when WhatsApp rolled out its new privacy and usage policy.