Even after blow in Brazil, WhatsApp to launch payments service in India

Even after Brazil suspended the newly launched WhatsApp’s payment system, the messaging platform said it is committed to launching the service in India, a process that has been in the works since over two years now.

"Even as we continue to work with our local partners and the Central Bank in Brazil, we remain committed to launching WhatsApp Payments in India. UPI (Unified Payments Interface) is a lighthouse model for the rest of the world, with local banks and institutions driving innovation on a local stack that is capable of delivering financial services for all," said a WhatsApp spokesperson.

It was reported Wednesday that Brazil's central bank suspended the payments system WhatsApp launched in the country last week, citing possible damage to the Brazilian payments system in the areas of competition, efficiency and data privacy.

In an ongoing case in the Indian Supreme Court, WhatsApp said last week that it was fully compliant with the country’s data localisation requirements as specified by the banking regulator Reserve Bank of India. 

India is WhatsApp’s largest market with over 400 million users. 

It launched WhatsApp Pay, based on the UPI system in February 2018, as part of a trial with one million users.