WhatsApp is one of the world’s largest instant messaging platforms but the Facebook-owned platform doesn’t have a good monetization model, despite having billions of monthly active users globally.

However, the company has been bringing several new features that have the potential to become a revenue stream for the application. One of them is WhatsApp Pay which was officially launched in India last year after being stuck for a couple of years because of regulatory issues with the Indian government.

Despite WhatsApp being the most used mobile application in India, the payment service built into the app didn’t take off. Now, to encourage more people to use its payment service, the company is reportedly considering offering cashback rewards.

As per the report, the company could be offering a one-time cashback reward of ₹10 (~$0.14) which will be crediting into the account with 48 hours. Also, it could be available only to those who are transacting through WhatsApp Pay for the first time.

The reward suggested for using the payment service is quite low when compared to what other players in the Indian market offered during their initial launch. But there’s a possibility that the reward amount could get increased.

In India, the WhatsApp Pay feature is based on the Unified Payments Interface (UPI) standard — the same system that is used by other payment apps such as Walmart’s PhonePe, Google’s Google Pay, and PayTM, among others.

Do note that the feature is currently under work so whenever the company decides to release it for the users, it could get changed to something else. It’s just speculation from our side, but we expect the feature to get released in the coming weeks or months.

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WhatsApp will relaunch its payment service in Brazil after the first launch was quickly halted by Brazil’s Central Bank in 2020, citing the need to establish compliance issues and failure to obtain a license. WhatsApp’s goal of creating the payment service was to expand financial inclusion among users in its second-largest market while also allowing users to make payments within the platform using a Visa or Mastercard credit card. At its launch in 2020, local lenders and international payment solution providers partnered with WhatsApp to produce the payment service. These included Nubank, Sicredi, Banco do Brasil SA, Visa, and Mastercard.

The newly repackaged payment service is coming after WhatsApp, Visa and Mastercard secured separate licenses from Brazil’s Central Bank to offer the specific payment solution to WhatsApp users. WhatsApp remains the primary online presence for millions of small and medium enterprises in Brazil. This revamped model will serve as the first step to achieving seamless digital payments among small businesses in the country.

There were rumors in June 2020 when the WhatsApp payment service was halted, that its presence might impede the growth of the Central Bank’s Pix instant payment service, which was yet to take off at that point. It was scheduled to commence before 2021. In the aftermath of the suspension, WhatsApp said it felt there was no need to obtain an additional banking license, and both Visa and Mastercard already had valid banking licenses from the Central Bank. There were also risks of heavy fines being slapped on both Visa and Mastercard, which could have been part of the reasons for the quick suspension of the service last year.

The relaunched WhatsApp payment service in Brazil holds a lot of promise for small businesses.

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(source)

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Right from the day WhatsApp announced its changes in Privacy Policy and Terms of Service, it has been facing a lot of backlash. Users on Social media have been expressing their disapproval and some are even recommending alternatives. As a result, rivals like Telegram and Signal have witnessed millions of downloads recently. To end this, WhatsApp has now given an explanation and postponed the cut-off date.

WhatsApp tweeted that it’s working constantly to counter the confusion on the privacy of users’ messages and Account suspension. Through a blog post, it has now announced the extension of the cut-off date to May 15, 2021. Also, WhatsApp clearly says that it won’t delete anyone’s account on February 8 which was earlier the last date for users to accept the new update changes.

Speaking of which, in case you are unaware, WhatsApp recently updated its privacy policy and terms of service. Accordingly, it added new sections about business chats and sharing of data with other Facebook companies.

However, People started spreading the news that WhatsApp gets access to Private messages and locations. To this, WhatsApp now says that they are protected by end-to-end encryption and neither Facebook/WhatsApp can access it.

Thank you to everyone who’s reached out. We're still working to counter any confusion by communicating directly with @WhatsApp users. No one will have their account suspended or deleted on Feb 8 and we’ll be moving back our business plans until after May – https://t.co/H3DeSS0QfO

— WhatsApp (@WhatsApp) January 15, 2021

EDITOR’S PICK: Facebook under antitrust probe in Turkey over updated WhatsApp terms

Through the blog post, WhatsApp also says that it will continue to follow the things that it did before as shown below:

• No access to users’ private messages by WhatsApp/Facebook
• WhatsApp doesn’t store logs of Messages/call info.
• WhatsApp/Facebook can’t see your Shared Location.
• WhatsApp doesn’t share your contacts with Facebook.
• WhatsApp Groups are Private.
• You can make your messages disappear(via Disappearing Messages)
• Locally Download your data anytime.

That said, WhatsApp still stands by the update changes regarding Businesses, Payments, and concurrently Facebook’s help. Precisely, some businesses that use Facebook’s hosting services might run on WhatsApp too. WhatsApp will label them separately so you can make your choice as to whether chat with them/not.

It further mentions clauses about Discovering businesses from Facebook/Instagram Ads and using their shopping experiences on WhatsApp. Simply put, the update excludes sharing info like personal messages, contacts & location to Facebook.

Nevertheless, WhatsApp is now moving back the date for accepting the terms. During this period, we can expect more explanation about privacy in future before the business options go live on May 15.

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WhatsApp has had tough luck with its payment service in markets where it has announced the feature. Back in June, the service got suspended in Brazil just days after it announced rollout. Things are now looking up for the Facebook-owned messaging platform as it has now gotten permission for a wider roll-out in India after nearly two years in beta.

Back in early 2018, WhatsApp announced that users will be able to send money within chats between themselves using India’s Unified Payments Interface (UPI). However, the feature was only available to 1 million beta testers.

The National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) announced earlier today that it has granted WhatsApp permission to roll-out the service albeit with some conditions.

WhatsApp will have to roll-out the service in a “graded manner”, starting with just 20 million users. That sure is a small number considering the messaging service has more than 400 million users in India. Nevertheless, 20 million is better than 1 million. NPCI also says that WhatsApp has to work with multiple banking partners.

The gradual roll-out and 20 million user cap are most likely linked to NPCI’s other announcement today which says that no third-party app should process more than 30% of all UPI transactions done in a month. TechCrunch reports that the Indian body took the decision to “protect the UPI ecosystem”.

This new condition is said to affect other players in the payment business such as Google (Google Pay) and Walmart (PhonePe) who processed more than 38% and 40% respectively of UPI payments last month. The rule doesn’t go into effect until January 2021 but there are already questions arising on how these services will handle the situation. Will they put a limit on payments users can carry out in a month?

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Last week, WhatsApp launched its payment service in Brazil but it has been now suspended by the government. Similarly, the instant messaging app introduced animated stickers in a recent beta version but that too got removed in the next version of the application.

WhatsApp Animated Stickers

WhatsApp has been lately adding some interesting features in its app. Recently, the company rolled out WhatsApp Beta v2.20.194.7 for Android. This version of the app brought animated stickers feature, which is found on other messaging services like Telegram.

Unfortunately, it was soon removed in the next beta version of the app – v2.20.194.9. The current implementation is half-baked as per Android Police. This could be the reason why the company got rid of it for the time being in the new version.

Anyway, we hope WhatsApp releases it in the stable channel for everyone in the near future

WhatsApp Payment Service Suspension in Brazil

In other news, the Brazilian Central Bank suspends WhatsApp payment service within days from its rollout in the country. The company launched it in partnership with fintech Nubank, state-controlled lender Banco do Brasil SA, Visa, Mastercard and lender Sicredi.

Reuters reports that WhatsApp launched its payment services in Brazil without requesting authorization from the Central Bank. Hence, Visa and Mastercard had to suspend their operations with the Facebook-owned messaging app.

If they haven’t complied with the order, the world’s two largest financial services company would have been subjected to fines and administrative sanctions. Before the suspension of services, the Central Bank issued a regulation saying “it could require market participants to receive previous approval to operate in payments”.

The Central Bank of Brazil is expected to launch its own instant payment system called Pix in November with more than 980 participants. A WhatsApp spokesperson said they are committed to working with the Central Bank to integrate systems once Pix becomes available.

Additionally, Brazil’s antitrust watchdog, Cade, blocked WhatsApp’s partnership with the country’s largest payment processor Cielo.

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If you live in Brazil and use WhatsApp, there is good news. Starting today, you will be able to send and receive money securely right from within your chat with friends, family, and businesses.

The press release on WhatsApp’s blog says that the feature is powered by Facebook Pay. Users will be able to send money to loved ones and folks with WhatsApp business accounts. The feature should make it easier for small businesses to easily receive payments.

WhatsApp users in Brazil can now send money to friends and family or pay a business right from your chat pic.twitter.com/BwrcCq9CJW

— WhatsApp Inc. (@WhatsApp) June 15, 2020

WhatsApp says the payment is secure and a six-digit PIN or fingerprint will be required before transactions can be completed.

At the moment, WhatsApp payment is supported by Visa and Mastercard debit and credit cards from Banco de Brasil, Nubank, and Sicredi. WhatsApp also says it is working with Cielo, Brazil’s leading payments processor, and has built an open model to make it easy for more partners to join in the future.

The payment doesn’t attract a charge when you send or receive money save for businesses that will have to pay a processing fee to receive payments from their customers.

The service is already rolling out to users already and should arrive for everyone in the coming weeks.

WhatsApp first began receiving payments in India in 2018 but it was a test run. The service was supposed to roll out to more users but the company has been facing challenges with approvals.

WhatsApp is yet to announce which countries will be getting the feature next.

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(Sources: 1, 2)

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After waiting for over a few months, WhatsApp finally received permission from NCPI (National Payments Corporation of India) for its digital payment platform, WhatsApp Pay. The digital payment service from WhatsApp was delayed due to its non-compliance with data localization norms. However, WhatsApp has finally agreed to comply with rules and regulations laid by the regulators in India.

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According to Business Standard, “The National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) has granted WhatsApp permission to operate its digital payment service in a phased manner.” It means initially WhatsApp Pay services will be limited to only 10 million users in the country. However, the limit will be withdrawn once the company complies with all other points.

WhatsApp Pay will be one of the most prominent payment players in the country. The service is going to use Unified Payments Interface (UPI) for real-time payments transfer. It will pose a severe threat to present players, including PhonePe, Google Pay, PayTM, and others.

Every major tech giant is in the race to dominate the 400 million users market in India. However, WhatsApp plans to launch the Pay service in the other six countries. In Q4 2014 Facebook financial report, Mark Zuckerberg told about the WhatsApp Pay rollout in other countries. He said, “One example we’ve been working on is WhatsApp Payments. You’ll be able to send money as quickly and easily as sending a photo. We got approval to test this with a million people in India back in 2018, and when so many of the people kept using it week after week, we knew it was going to be big when we get to launch. I’m really excited about this, and I expect this to start rolling this out in several countries and for us to make a lot of progress here in the next six months.” 

Payments option on the world’s most used social messaging app is a convenient way to transfer money. At the same time, it’s a tough job for the WhatsApp to provide security and privacy by taking care of the local laws. We hope WhatsApp Pay will reach masses and will ensure safe and secure payment transfers.

Related: Facebook defends WhatsApp by blaming Apple for Amazon Founder’s iPhone getting hacked

(source)

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Facebook keeps expanding the features WhatsApp boasts off. Just recently, it included the ability to unlock the app with your fingerprint as a privacy measure. Now it is rolling out a new feature called Catalogs for the Business version of the app.

There is a business version of WhatsApp called WhatsApp Business for those who use the messaging app for small scale businesses. It has all the features of the standard version in addition to special features to make it easier to reach your customers or for them to reach you. The new Catalogs feature now allows you to do more.

With Catalogs, you can literally create a catalog of the products you sell complete with prices and information about the items. This way, you don’t have to keep going back and forth with a customer providing details (images, specifications, etc.) of the items or services you provide. This is not only good for the owner of the business but also makes it easier and saves time for prospective customers.

Catalogs is under testing in Brazil, Germany, India, Mexico, the UK, and the US at the moment but it is expected to roll out globally in the future.

In related news, WhatsApp Pay appears to have it a brick wall in India. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has informed the Supreme Court that the payment service does not comply with India’s data localization norms, hence it has directed the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) to prevent a launch of the service, which has been under trial run for several months now, on India’s Unified Payments Interface (UPI).

Back in August, the Supreme Court had requested that the Reserve Bank inform it about WhatsApp’s data local compliance. The response by RBI, which was dated November 1, informed the court that it hadn’t complied with the norms.

Apparently, WhatsApp is said to be storing payment data elements outside India beyond the duration the RBI issued via a circular back on June 26, 2019. These data includes transaction IDs, and retrieval reference numbers. So until WhatsApp complies with the law, they will not be allowed to have a full-scale launch.

WhatsApp Pay currently has 1 million beta users in India and is expected to have up to 400 million users when it eventually goes out of beta. When it does, it will compete with Google Pay, Amazon Pay, and Paytm.

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(Sources: 1, 2)

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