WhatsApp users in India can now take advantage of its payment service. Facebook has started rolling out the new feature in the country.
According to The Verge, WhatsApp has begun rolling out the feature of payment. Indian users will be able to use it, just like other people across the globe.
Interestingly, in 2018 the service was out in India as a beta program. But the official release of the payment service on the app was delayed. The reasons for this were data storage and sharing.
India matters a lot for Facebook, as WhatsApp has around 400 million users in the Asian nation.
Zuckerberg announces WhatsApp payment for India
The National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) approved the service first on Thursday. Then it was announced by Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg that the payment feature is rolling out. It happened within hours after India’s regulatory body gave the nod for retail transactions.
“Now, you’re going to be able to easily send money to your friends and family through WhatsApp just as easily as sending a message,” said Zuckerberg in a video.
Adding further, he also mentioned that digital payments are essential nowadays. And especially amid the pandemic, it becomes even more necessary because it will reduce the need for in-person cash exchange.
The chat app’s new service will use India’s national payments infrastructure called UPI. In other terms, its also known as the Unified Payments Interface. Walmart’s PhonePe and Google Pay are already using this method in the country. They are also two of the largest UPI transaction providers in the nation, with nearly 40% market share.
Facebook Dark Mode coming sooner than later
While rolling out the payment service, the company also said it worked with major banks in India for this feature. They are the ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank, Axis Bank, the State Bank of India, and Jio Payments Bank.
Apart from this, Facebook recently announced that dark mode is finally coming in its interface. Yes, that’s excellent news for all the users. And most importantly, the iPhone and Android consumers will be delighted. Because despite the system-wide implementation of the dark theme, Facebook doesn’t support it. But now, it will soon happen in the coming months.
Luckily the feature is already out for a few fortunate users on both iOS and Android. However, not all people can use it as of now. Facebook hasn’t announced a complete roll-out of the dark mode yet.
It will be interesting to see the moment when the mode becomes globally available to all the people. For now, the WhatsApp payment service feature will surely give a big joy to the Indian customers.
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