Popular instant messaging application, WhatsApp, has rolled out a new set of updates. Now, millions of users across India will be able to make payments for products and services through WhatsApp. The latest development seems to be a measure by Meta to increase its revenue from India, one of its biggest markets in the world. While announcing the payment solution for Indian users, Zuckerberg also hailed India as a world leader in digital payments.
Meta on Wednesday announced that it is collaborating with PayU and Razorpay to offer support for payments in India through debit and credit cards, net banking, and UPI apps. In his virtual address at the Conversations 2023 event, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg said that with the latest feature customers can almost instantly make payments to Indian businesses. He added that Meta was working towards expanding the ways that people can pay for things within a chat thread.
“Now, as you know, we’ve launched our own payment solution in Brazil and in Singapore, and today I am excited to announce that we are bringing this service to India. With payments in India, we’re going to support other payment methods as well, including all UPI apps. This is going to make it even easier for people to pay Indian businesses within a WhatsApp chat using whatever method they prefer,” Zuckerberg said in his address.
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WhatsApp for Indian businesses
Among other offerings, Zuckerberg said that the company was bringing Meta Verified to businesses using WhatsApp, Instagram, and Facebook. “Businesses that subscribe are going to get a verified badge, account support, impersonation protection and additional features that will help people find them more easily. So for WhatsApp, this includes premium features like a custom web page and increased multi-device support,” he said.
According to Zuckerberg, WhatsApp Flows are giving businesses the ability to create customised experiences right within chat threads. He illustrated this by sharing an example where banks can build a way for customers to book an appointment to open a new account; a food delivery service can build a way to place an order from any of their partner restaurants, or an airline’s ability to build a way to check in for a flight and pick up a seat, etc.
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On India
In his virtual address, Zuckerberg also praised India calling it a nation at the forefront of technology. He said that India is leading the world. “India, (is) a country that’s at the forefront of a lot of what we’re going to talk about today. You’re (India is) leading the world in terms of how people and businesses have embraced messaging as the better way to get things done,” said Zuckerberg.