With 400 Million Users In India, WhatsApp Likely To Launch Payment Service Across The Country This Year

WhatsApp is likely to launch its payment services to users across India this year. The messaging app, with around 400 million users in India, has been testing its payment service since last year with around a million users, reports The Hindu.

In an event in New Delhi on Wednesday (25 July), WhatsApp’s global head Will Cathcart said that the company could roll out the service for all the Indian users this year.

“We believe that if we get this right, it will accelerate financial inclusion and bring value for people in India’s fast growing digital economy, We can’t wait to provide the service to more of our users all across India later this year,” Cathcart was quoted in the report as saying.

According to the report, WhatsApp’s payments services’ blueprint in India has been caught in a bind after concerns over the company’s data storage and authentication practices.

The company’s rivals, in the past, have alleged in the past that its payment platform has security risks for consumers and is not in compliance with the guidelines.

However, in October last year, WhatsApp said that it has developed a system to store payments-data in India to comply with the policy of Reserve Bank of India on storing such data locally.

WhatsApp in May this year has submitted in the Supreme Court that it expects completion of the trial run by July, and said that it will not launch the payments services without fully complying with the RBI norms.