WhatsApp’s payment service, WhatsApp Pay, launch is long due, and Facebook has been struggling to roll out in India despite ongoing beta trials. Now as per Moneycontrol report, WhatsApp Pay could go live as early as by the end of the month in India. It is reported to get launch with starting three partner banks.
As per report, two bankers aware of the development suggested that WhatsApp pay is set to rollout with three private sector lenders – ICICI Bank, Axis Bank and HDFC Bank. The State Bank of India is not going to go live in the first phase. While other banks are in the process of integration, the ICICI Bank beta testing has started.
“We are continuing to work with the government so that we can provide access to payments on WhatsApp to all of our users. Payments on WhatsApp will help accelerate digital payments and this is particularly important during Covid as it is a safer way to transact for our 400 million users in India,” WhatsApp spokesperson told Moneycontrol.
Recently, a report from Techcrunch had noted, that Facebook maybe eyeing at India’s lending market space with WhatsApp Pay after Amazon’s launch of Pay Later credit line. The company is reportedly in discussions with the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) to ensure all regulatory barriers.
WhatsApp’s filing documents with the local regulator in India listed credit as one of the areas it will pursue in the country. The company earlier this month declared credit or loan providing service as one of the “main objects to be pursued by it in the country.” It didn’t mention any other financial service in the filing.
It’s not that Facebook is only moving in the lending market direction in India, many other payment services have jumped already. Paytm and Mobikwik are the known players, but recently Amazon also launched its Pay Later option as well. The ‘Amazon Pay Later’ service by Amazon Pay in India is an extended virtual line of credit for customers shopping on Amazon’s shopping platform.
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Amazon Pay recently partnered with Capital Float to design and enable ‘Amazon Pay Later’ service for its eligible customers, and Capital Float has brought in Karur Vysya Bank (KVB) as a co-lending partner to scale up the service.
