WhatsApp Pay explained: What it is and how it works

WhatsApp Pay is expected to launch in India later this year. Here’s everything you need to know about WhatsApp’s payments service and how to use it.

WhatsApp payments service in India. (REUTERS)

WhatsApp Pay has been around in India for over a year now but the service is yet to receive its official rollout. Facebook is still in the process of getting regulatory approvals for the stable release of WhatsApp Pay in India.

Earlier this year, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg said the company is "actively working" on the India launch. WhatsApp global head Will Cathart gave a clearer timeline of the launch recently during his visit to India. Cathart said WhatsApp Pay will be available to users across India later this year. WhatsApp which has 400 million users in India has around 1 million users testing its payments service.

So what is WhatsApp Pay and how does it work? Here's everything you need to know.

WhatsApp Pay: Introduction

WhatsApp Pay is a UPI-based payments service which launched in India last February in beta mode. WhatsApp users can link their UPI-enabled bank accounts and transfer money through the messaging app. WhatsApp supports all popular banks like HDFC, ICICI, State Bank of India, Axis Bank and even Airtel Payments Bank.

WhatsApp Pay: How to enable

WhatsApp Pay isn't available for all users in India. WhatsApp beta users will most likely have the feature on their app. To start using the service, a WhatsApp Pay user needs to initiate a payment to a contact. Once the request is received, the user can set up their UPI account on WhatsApp. Users can then send and receive money on WhatsApp itself.

WhatsApp Pay: How to use

WhatsApp Pay is as simple as sending photos and videos on the app. Users can send money directly through chat by tapping on the share file icon in the chat bar and selecting 'payment'. There's a dedicated 'Payments' section available under the shortcut menu. Users can check their transactions, history and account details here.

WhatsApp Pay: Modes of transaction

During the initial phase, WhatsApp Pay allowed users to send money only to their contacts after which it enabled UPI ID. WhatsApp Pay users could enter the UPI ID and send money. Later in March WhatsApp introduced QR code for its payments service. Each WhatsApp Pay user has a unique QR code which users can scan and send money.