WhatsApp To Partner With Banks To Enable Money Transfers
Facebook owned messaging app WhatsApp has got approval from National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) to enable Unified Payments Interface (UPI). WhatsApp can now enter into a partnership with multiple banks which will allow users to transfer money instantly using the messaging app.
After demonetization last year, online payment apps have witnessed a humungous amount of transactions which resulted in the rise of UPI platforms. The government launched BHIM app which transfers money between different bank accounts.
AP Hota, MD and CEO, NPCI confirmed TOI that Whatsapp has received a nod from the apex payment institution. Facebook-owned WhatsApp had been in talks with banks for a while now. The approval for multi-bank partnership could put its payment business ambitions on a fast track. Some of the banks WhatsApp is in talks are Axis Bank, ICICI Bank, Punjab National Bank among others.
WhatsApp got green signal for partnering with multiple banks as it will ensure smooth payment process whereas transactions through the single bank would have resulted in high load.
WhatsApp is the most popular messaging platform across the globe with 200 million active subscribers in India and 1.2 billion users globally.
Global companies like Uber and Google are also planning to implement UPI on their platforms.
