WhatsApp may soon allow users to make UPI payments in foreign currencies
WhatsApp supports UPI payments like other apps in India. The messaging app started piloting the feature a few years ago, but still lags behind the likes of PhonePe, Google Pay and even Paytm. But soon, the Meta-owned platform could get a big head start on its rivals, with rumors suggesting that WhatsApp will soon offer international UPI payments for Indian users.
That’s right, WhatsApp could actually take on the likes of PayPal with its UPI payment service available in other countries. An X-user named AssembleDebug has shared the details of this supposed upcoming feature this week.
The tipster talks about digging into the messaging app for future updates and features that might reach users. He has also shared a screenshot showing the international payments option from the off/on dropdown menu.
When you enable the international payments option, WhatsApp will take you to another page where you will see that the payment feature only affects businesses and only works in supported countries, which may be UPI supported countries.
The page also mentions that payments can be sent for up to 3 months, and we’re not sure how that works. You can activate international payment on WhatsApp by authorizing with your 4- or 6-digit UPI PIN.
WhatsApp has more than 400 million active users in India, and UPI has become a popular payment method since the country’s government pushed hard for digital payments. The combination of these two services and enabling international payments with them could be the death knell for many payment services.
That said, UPI payments are linked through bank accounts, so it’s clear that foreign exchange payments are included in the total, and we’ll be interested to see how those numbers work out so that people can actually start using the service when it officially launches. We will keep an eye on the upcoming beta versions of WhatsApp for hints about the UPI special feature and keep you updated on its possible availability.
Meanwhile, in the latest Android beta update, WhatsApp has added a UPI payment scanner shortcut that allows people to quickly scan a QR code and make a UPI payment through a bank account in the country.
