You may transfer money via WhatsApp soon

Good news for you!

Messaging application WhatsApp has initiated discussions with Indian banks and other institutions to allow its users to make payments via United Payments Interface (UPI), which facilitates instant fund transfer between two bank accounts on the mobile platform.

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AFP

In talks with SBI

The messaging app, owned by American online social networking company Facebook, is in talks with the State Bank of India, the National Payments Corporation of India and a few other financial institutions to integrate payments on its platform.

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Reuters

To make it easier

Launched by erstwhile Reserve Bank of India Gover nor Raghuram Rajan in 2016, UPI is run by NPCI. WhatsApp is in early discussions with several Indian banks, which could work with the messaging app service to implement UPI on its platform, bank executives said.

With UPI allowing instant settlement of funds between peers, all banks need to do is to integrate their systems with WhatsApp, which can identify the correct recipient, they said.

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How will it work?

“A messenger works in a manner of identifying an address box where the messages travel to instantly. Similarly, UPI instantly settles funds between one account holder and the other,” said a senior executive, who manages payments at a private sector bank.

“WhatsApp will identify the recipient and the UPI layer will allow funds to get settled between two parties,” official said.

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Reuters

Truecaller, Hike Messenger have already implemented it

Similar technologies have been adopted by apps such as Truecaller, which has worked with ICICI Bank to implement UPI based payments.

Hike Messenger, too, has started UPI-based payments in collaboration with Yes Bank. It has done so through a wallet licence from the RBI.

While messaging applications can allow instant and easy transfer of funds, banks are concerned over security of data in the process involved.

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Discussions also pertain to the manner in which consumers will be able to access the payment method, whether it will be done through WhatsApp or appear as a payment mode in the payment gateway page.

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Reuters

Useful addition?

UPI, which has been at the heart of the government’s push towards digital payments after demonetisation, clocked 17.8 million transactions amounting to about Rs 7,000 crore in 2016-17.

WhatsApp, on the other hand, has 200 million users and a huge potential for enterprise solutions as well.