Social media giant – WhatsApp is taking its messaging service to a new level with the proposed addition of a payment system.
The development follows a hint by the National Payment Corporation of India (NPCI) of its approval to WhatsApp to enter into partnership with multiple banks in India in a bid to test-run the new service in that country before taking it elsewhere.
As to why the company decided to make India the pioneer beneficiary, or experimentation ground for its proposed payment system is not known but if implemented: the service will allow users of the instant messaging platform to pay and transfer money using Unified Payments Interface (UPI).
UPI-enabled apps allow transactions to be done through any smart phone or devise using Virtual Payment Address (VPA).
The aim is to enable people to complete transactions in less time by cutting down on the traditional bottlenecks that would have hitherto been experienced by other means. The transactions can be done at any time of the day (24/7) and the transfer happens on a real-time basis.
More so, the UPI system via WhatsApp would eliminate the need for users to share personal details such as bank accounts, credit or debit cards numbers, among others.
Since its formal launch to the commercial market in 2009, WhatsApp has remained at the forefront of service innovation.
Growing from just a messaging service that only charged for sending verification codes to upgrading its app to enable exchange of pictures and other media files, up till the recent addition of the live status software which allows users create short status videos to amuse their contacts – it’s been an exhilarating experience.
However, the payment system reflects its leanings towards the somewhat strategic plan of its now mother company – Facebook, who is working on integrating a payment system into the global social networking community app.
Facebook, had in 2014 acquired WhatsApp for $19 billion dollars – its highest acquisition till date.
If the plan is fully implemented, its over 1 billion users on Facebook and WhatsApp respectively might have a much easier (as easy as replying a message on your WhatsApp) and faster means of making money transfers worldwide.