WhatsApp Gets NPCI Nod To Expand UPI Service To 100 Million Users

• ByStartupStory     |    April 14, 2022

WhatsApp, the messaging platform, has received National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) nod in order to extend the UPI service to an additional 60 Mn users. As many as 100 Mn WhatApp will now be able to use UPI payments on the platform, with this.

In a press statement, it said that an additional 60 Mn users on UPI has been approved by NPCI for WhatsApp. WhatsApp will be able to expand the service to its 100 Mn users, with this approval.

For WhatsApp, the move will come as a huge relief which has been seeking removal of a cap on the number of users it can roll out the service to. Although huge, the relaxation, could still limit WhatsApp’s growth as the platform has over 487 Mn users in the country.

Over the years, NPCI has been gradually reducing the cap on WhatsApp. In 2020, the Corporation had given its nod to the social media platform in order to launch its payments service. Back then, in November last year, it had allowed WhatsApp to onboard 20 Mn users and then increased the number to 40 Mn, gradually.

WhatsApp’s biggest market is India and time and again, the Meta-owned platform has sought in order to remove any cap on the number of users. As early as 2017, WhatsApp began its work on the service and in early 2018, ran pilots in the country. But, local regulations have since spent a greater part of the duration focused on complying, just so that it could reach out to more Indian users.

On the other hand, NPCI has good reason in order to restrain the platform and stop it from undermining competition and creating a monopoly. Apprehensions have been raised about its enormous power and with this idea in mind, with a huge reach, NPCI has been careful about its approach to WhatsApp.

The overreach is also part of the government’s bid in order to reign in controlling market players in the critically important financial sector. By limiting the market cap to 30% per player, the Centre in addition has also implemented the Third Party Application Providers (TPAP) guidelines in order to discourage monopoly and duopolies in the payment app segment.

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