Facebook-owned messaging service WhatsApp has a person-to-person payments platform in the pipeline, The Ken reported on Tuesday. Four unidentified officials told the news portal that the company will try the service first in India in six months. WhatsApp has advertised a job opening for a digital transactions lead in the country.
The advertisement calls for candidates who understand India’s Unified Payments Interface and the Bhim payments app that conduct money transfers and merchant payments using mobile numbers.
“India is an important country for WhatsApp, and we are understanding how we can contribute more to the vision of Digital India,” a WhatsApp spokesperson told Reuters, referring to a government initiative that aims to increase online services in India.
The Centre has heavily promoted digital transactions following the demonetisation of Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 currency notes on November 8.
In February, reports said WhatsApp Co-Founder Brian Acton had met with Union minister Ravi Shankar Prasad to negotiate commercial messages and digital transaction features. Acton had said WhatsApp planned on using India as a testing ground for the business version of the app.
Communications app Truecaller recently started a mobile payment service in India based on the UPI model.
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