Whatsapp UPI Payment is Live (for Beta Testers)

By Chandrakant Mishra | Published On February 9, 2018

After a long wait people started to have a first look of the UPI payment system in Whatsapp. You would know that it has revolutionized the Instant messaging. Today it is the most popular messaging app in the world. There are 200 million WhatsApp users in India.

The UPI payment facility of Whatsapp is launched only for some of the users. It is still in the Beta phase. Sometimes back there was a leak about the Payment plan of the Whatsapp.

Following are the main features of Whatsapp UPI Payments Beta Release

The Full Release Would Take Time

The much anticipated UPI payment features of Whatsapp is finally live. However, very few people are able to see it. It seems the feature is still in Beta testing. However, as expected, this feature would go fully operational from the March 2018. Till then Whatsapp is slowly updating the payment features. Keep checking, It may be available in your WhatsApp application as well.

Operational on Select versions

The WhatsApp payment is operational only with the select versions of WhatsApp. You would find the UPI Payment in version 2.18.21 for iOS and version 2.18.41 for Android. The feature would also remain active in any further updates of these versions. So, if you are using any previous versions, update it as soon as possible.

Payment Option in Settings

If the UPI Payments feature is active in your WhatsApp, you would see the Payments option in the settings menu. You are required to configure the UPI payments by tapping at this option.

You have to authenticate your phone number and choose your bank. If you have not set the UPI PIN of your bank account, you would be required to set it. The process is similar to any other UPI app.

Once you configure the Payments in settings of the Whatsapp, You can easily pay to any person.

No Payment To Merchant

According to the reports, Whatsapp Payments is not supporting the payment to the merchants. Initially, it would be a peer to peer fund transfer platform. You would be able to transfer fund from your account to another account.

If it is true, it would be a negative for WhatsApp as, existing competitors such as Tez, BHIM and Phonepe give merchant Payment facility.

Only For India

The payment feature of Whatsapp is available only in India. As this feature is based on the UPI platform and the UPI is an initiative of the Indian government, hence this would be available only in India. However, in future, Whatsapp would like to replicate the payments feature in Europe and USA.

Payment would be like an attachment

The payment through Whatsapp would be quite easy. It would be like sending a photo or document to your friend.

To send money to someone, you have to tap on attachment icon. It would open a menu of different types of attachment. Among them, you would find the ‘Payments’. After tapping on the payments, you would be required to select the beneficiary and amount. finally, you would complete the payment by entering the UPI PIN of the bank account.

So, Whatsapp is still in the beta state. You can expect intense fight once it is open for all. Meanwhile, Other big players are getting ready with smart features. Hence, you can expect a Good challenge for the WhatsApp.

About Chandrakant Mishra

Chandrakant Mishra is the Founder-Editor of the upipayments.co.in and PlanMoneyTax.Com. He has written more than 600 articles on payments, tax, investment, insurance and saving. He has been associated with the CNBC Aawaz Business Channel as Assistant Editor.

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