WhatsApp will soon facilitate instant money transfer via the Unified Payments Interface (UPI) transaction system, a new Beta update by the Facebook-owned mobile messaging platform revealed.
According to WABetaInfo, a blog website, late on Wednesday, WhatsApp was finally giving shape to its plans of bank-to-bank transfer using the UPI system.
In the new version ‘2.17.295’ through the Google Play Beta programme, it says: “WhatsApp Payments: the immediate bank-to-bank transfer with UPI.”
The official “WhatsApp Payments” section for Android is still under development.
Launched by the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) and regulated by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), UPI facilitates instant fund transfer between two bank accounts on the mobile platform.
With over 200 million monthly active users, WhatsApp has been in the news for working towards a UPI-based interface. According to media reports, WhatsApp is already in talks with the NPCI and a few banks to facilitate financial transactions via the UPI.
Some mobile messaging platforms like WeChat and Hike Messenger already support UPI-based payment services.
The NPCI announced in July that UPI had crossed the 10-million transaction mark in June 2017, registering a 10-fold increase in 11 months from one million UPI transactions in August 2016.
Transactions on UPI are growing exponentially due to increased acceptance among member banks, merchants, and consumers. Plus, the UPI-powered Bharat Interface for Money (BHIM) has also been a significant contributorAP Hota, Managing Director and CEO, NPCI
The firm said the volume of UPI transactions was 10.35 million in June, up from 9.36 million in May and 7.20 million in April.
The UPI transaction system was launched in August 2016 with 21 banks, and was now offered by around 50 banks. Hota said around 22 percent transactions are merchant-based, which is also growing rapidly.
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