WhatsApp Pay allowed to onboard all users in India as NPCI lifts UPI cap

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In a major boost for Meta-owned WhatsApp, the NPCI has allowed WhatsApp Pay to offer UPI services to its entire user base of over 500 million in India
WhatsApp Pay allowed to onboard all users in India as NPCI lifts UPI cap
WhatsApp was earlier allowed to activate WhatsApp Pay service for 100 million users only. Credits: Fortune India

In a huge advantage to the Meta-owned messaging platform WhatsApp, the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI), an umbrella organisation for operating retail payment and settlement systems in India, has removed the UPI user onboarding limit for WhatsApp Pay with immediate effect. The move will pay way for the company to enable UPI service to all its users, estimated at around whopping 500 million in India, thus intensifying the competition in the digital payments space.

In a statement, the NPCI says WhatsApp Pay can now extend UPI services to its entire user base in India. "National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) has removed the UPI user onboarding limit for WhatsApp Pay (Third Party App Provider), with immediate effect. With this development, WhatsApp Pay can now extend UPI services to its entire user base in India."

The development comes after November 6, 2020, when the NPCI permitted WhatsApp Pay to expand its UPI user base in a phased manner. The platform was allowed to activate WhatsApp Pay service for 100 million users only.

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However, with this notification, the NPCI is removing the limit restrictions on user onboarding on WhatsApp Pay and the company can enable UPI services to more than 500 million users across the country. "WhatsApp Pay will continue to comply with all existing UPI guidelines and circulars applicable to existing TPAPs," says the umbrella body.

In November 2023, WhatsApp allowed its users in India to make purchases and send payments using rival UPI apps, debit and credit cards.

As per the latest available data on the NPCI, WhatsApp carried out 51.76 million transactions in November 2024. Ranked 11th on the list of third-party UPI apps, users made UPI payments worth Rs 3,890.10 crore in value terms.

Flipkart-owned PhonePe retained its top stop among the UPI apps, with 740 million transactions amounting to ₹10.88 lakh crore. In the previous month, total transactions on PhonePe stood at 790 million, which amounted to ₹11.69 lakh crore. Google Pay also retained its spot among the top three in November, clocking 573 million transactions worth ₹7.64 lakh crore.

Paytm was a distant third, with 107 million transactions amounting to ₹1.18 lakh crore. Paytm also saw a decline in total transactions and value at 116 million and ₹1.29 lakh crore, respectively.

To send money on WhatsApp, it’s necessary to have a bank account. WhatsApp sends instructions to banks, also known as payment service providers, that initiate the transfer of money via UPI between sender and receiver bank accounts. People can send money on WhatsApp to anyone using a UPI-supported app.

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