whatsapp payments: WhatsApp may go the “Google Pay’ way to boost its payments platform – morningtidings

NEW DELHI: WhatsApp users, the company may offer you cash rewards to use its payments platform — WhatsApp Payments. The company is reportedly planning to give cashback to users who make payments using WhatsApp Payments. According to a report in WABeta, the website that tracks upcoming changes to WhatsApp, the company is working on introducing a cashback feature. The company seems to be looking at the cashback route to boost the usage of WhatsApp Payments. The feature is presently under development and cannot be accessed by users.

WABetaInfo also shared a screenshot of the upcoming feature. The screenshot shared shows a new banner that displays above the list of chats on WhatsApp with a gift icon and a message which reads, “Get cashback on your next payment” and “Tap to get started”. The report claims that the cashback feature will be limited to users India and that any payment of Rs 10 and above may be eligible for cashbacks. WhatsApp Payments are based on UPI. The company launched WhatsApp Payments beta in India in early 2018. The service moved out of beta in November 2020. Facebook rival Google too offers UPI-based payment service in India, Google Pay. Google Pay too offers users cashbacks and other rewards for using its platform for transactions as well as bill payments.
WhatsApp’s plan to alert users about its payments service
WhatsApp seems to be betting big on its payment service in India. As per a recent report in the Economic Times, WhatsApp is working creating awareness among users about its payments service. The company is said to be planning a major ad campaign around the service.
“As we go forward, we would be employing more marketing efforts to help people understand and unlock the payments potential on WhatsApp, which is as simple as sending a picture. Digital payments adoption is a key step in our country’s digital financial journey and with payments on WhatsApp, we aim to be a significant contributor to India’s agenda of financial inclusion,” Manesh Mahatme, director, head of WhatsApp Pay, India, told ET.