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WhatsApp picks UPI for payments

Facebook-owned WhatsApp is working on launching payments in India. UPI appears to have won over wallets as the mechanism

04/04/17

Arundhati Ramanathan

WhatsApp’s UPI choice is led by the fact that all other payment systems would hamper user experience

Wallets could have been favourable but the RBI’s draft guidelines make it an unviable option

Picking UPI would also help Facebook get on the right side of the government

UPI is a fledgeling system and it’s free. So WhatsApp won’t be able to make money using it

Whatsapp.jpg

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WhatsApp, the Facebook-owned messaging app, is working quietly to launch person-to-person payments on its platform within the next six months, said four sources with knowledge of the matter.

The initiative is seen as strategic for Facebook and currently being driven out of the company’s headquarters in Menlo Park, California.

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