WhatsApp Pay, the payment feature of the widely used messaging platform, has given a go-ahead to roll out Unified Payments Interface (UPI) services for its entire user base in India. The National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) recently announced its decision to lift the cap on user onboarding for WhatsApp Pay.
In an official statement, NPCI announced, “National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) has removed the UPI user onboarding limit for WhatsApp Pay (Third Party App Provider), with immediate effect. With this development, WhatsApp Pay can now extend UPI services to its entire user base in India.”
The decision to expand WhatsApp Pay services will benefit over 500 million users of WhatsApp in India. Earlier, the service was restricted to be used by around 100 million WhatsApp users.
When WhatsApp Pay was launched, NPCI imposed strict limits on the number of users it could onboard to ensure the platform could manage the demands of India’s massive digital payments ecosystem while maintaining security and performance standards. Initially, only a small percentage of UPI users could access the service, with the cap gradually raised as NPCI monitored compliance and operational efficiency.
By November 2022, the user cap had been raised to 100 million, allowing WhatsApp Pay to refine its systems and address scalability or security concerns before expanding further.
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Why this cap revision by NPCI
The decision to remove the cap follows NPCI’s assessment that WhatsApp Pay has met all necessary operational, security, and compliance standards required for UPI payment services. This move aligns with India’s push for a cashless economy by enabling broader access to digital payment platforms.
Even with this expanded access, WhatsApp Pay must continue adhering to existing UPI guidelines for third-party app providers (TPAPs).
Impact on India’s UPI ecosystem
With over 500 million WhatsApp users in the country, this update is poised to reshape India’s UPI ecosystem. WhatsApp Pay can now aggressively promote its payment feature, posing a challenge to market leaders like PhonePe, Google Pay, and Paytm, which currently dominate UPI transactions.
Extension of market cap deadline
This development coincides with NPCI’s decision to extend the market cap compliance deadline for UPI service providers.
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