WhatsApp Pay Returns to India, Gets NPCI Nod After 2 Years: Report

The nod comes as a victory for Facebook, as it had been trying to rollout its payments services for two years.

Almost one million people tested WhatsApp Pay in India to send money.

(Photo Courtesy: iStock)

WhatsApp Pay is coming back to India.

The National Payments Corporation of India (NCPI) has given its nod to WhatsApp’s parent company Facebook for launching the payments feature in India, a Business Standard report says.

The nod comes as a victory for Facebook, that has been trying to bring its payments service to India for the past two years.

The Business Standard report states that WhatsApp Pay will be rolled out in a phased manner in India. "The National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) has granted WhatsApp a license to operate its digital payment service in a phased manner," the Business Standard quoted an RBI executive.

The Quint could not independently verify the report.

WhatsApp has got permission after it agreed to comply with local data regulation norms.

The first phase of the rollout expected to be for 10 million users. "Pending other compliance points, the messaging platform will be able to do a full rollout," the report quoted the RBI executive.

After this, WhatsApp will become the biggest UPI payments service, leaving behind the likes of PhonePe, Google Pay, BHIM, Amazon Pay, among other payment apps.

(With inputs from Business Standard.)