India has removed restrictions on WhatsApp’s payments service in a significant victory for Meta in its largest market by users as the social media giant seeks to compete with entrenched fintech rivals.
The National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI), the payments body overseeing the popular instant payments rail called UPI, said Tuesday that WhatsApp can now roll out WhatsApp Pay to all its users in the market. WhatsApp has more than 500 million users in India.
The decision lifts the previous 100 million user cap on WhatsApp Pay. The move signals a shift in the regulator’s cautious approach to WhatsApp’s payments ambitions.
The NPCI, which reports to India’s central bank, previously insisted on a gradual rollout, first limiting the service to 40 million users in 2020 before extending the cap to 100 million in 2022.
WhatsApp’s expansion comes as India’s UPI platform, which processes more than 13 billion transactions monthly, is wrestling with market concentration concerns. Google Pay and Walmart-backed PhonePe currently control more than 85% of UPI transactions.
On Tuesday, the NPCI once again pushed back a proposal to implement a 30% cap on any individual app’s share of transactions on the UPI network. The NPCI said the rule will now not go into effect for two years — until December 31, 2026.
“We’re committed to making payments on WhatsApp simple, reliable, and secure,” a WhatsApp spokesperson said in a statement sent to TechCrunch via the app.
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“Our goal is to add value and convenience to users’ lives through various use-cases like bill payments, ticket booking, and shopping. We aim to accelerate digital payments and UPI adoption and continue contributing to India’s digital and financial inclusion agenda.”
