WhatsApp Payments Coming To India After Suspended By Brazil Central Bank; Is It Safe?

WhatsApp has been pushing its payments feature for a while but seems to be facing multiple hurdles. The WhatsApp Payments has been suspended by the Brazil Central Bank just a week after the feature was announced. Now, the Facebook-owned messaging app is working on launching the WhatsApp Payments in India, a process that's been in development since 2018.

WhatsApp Payments Suspended

According to reports, the Brazil Central Bank has suspended WhatsApp Payments to ensure competition in the payment system market. The bank is evaluating the potential risks to the payment infrastructure and also if WhatsApp is regulations-compliant. The suspension comes as a big blow to WhatsApp, that's been working on the payments feature for years now.

Looking back, WhatsApp began working on bringing the Payments feature to India back in 2018. After the suspension from Brazil, a company spokesperson has said that the company is committed to launching WhatsApp Payments in India.

"UPI (Unified Payments Interface) is a lighthouse model for the rest of the world, with local banks and institutions driving innovation on a local stack that is capable of delivering financial services for all," said a WhatsApp spokesperson to India TV.

WhatsApp Payments Coming To India

WhatsApp is one of the largest messaging apps globally, with a large user base in India of over 400 million. The WhatsApp Payments, based on the UPI system was started in 2018 with beta testing of one million users. For all we know, the company could push its efforts to launch in India.

Also to note, the statement comes a day after the Competition Commission of India (CCI) cleared Facebook's $5.7-billion investment in Reliance's Jio Platforms. Presently, the new payments system is battling in the Supreme Court. WhatsApp noted that it was fully compliant with the country's data localization requirements as specified by the Reserve Bank of India.

UPI-based payments are quite popular, if not used by the entire population. At times where social distancing seems like the new order, digital payment methods are advised. India also has popular players like Google Pay, Paytm, PhonePe, and Amazon Pay, which are widely used across the country. WhatsApp Payments, with an existing user base, will surely be popular.