Digital payments in India get WhatsApp boost

WhatsApp rolled out its Unified Payments Interface-reliant payment service in India on Nov 6. While Facebook has been testing payments on WhatsApp in India since 2018, a full roll-out was delayed by concerns over data storage and sharing.
WhatsApp rolled out its Unified Payments Interface-reliant payment service in India on Nov 6. While Facebook has been testing payments on WhatsApp in India since 2018, a full roll-out was delayed by concerns over data storage and sharing. PHOTO: AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
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Digital payments in India registered significant growth in recent months amid the Covid-19 pandemic, a trend likely to be further reinforced with the launch of a payment facility on WhatsApp earlier this month.

The number of Unified Payments Interface-based (UPI-based) payments hit a new milestone in India with more than two billion transactions last month, government data showed. The National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) valued the transactions at 3.86 trillion rupees (S$70 billion).

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A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Straits Times on November 19, 2020, with the headline Digital payments in India get WhatsApp boost. Subscribe