WhatsApp Pay awaits SC verdict to launch service

NEW DELHI: WhatsApp will need an all-clear from the Supreme Court before it can roll out its payment feature, people familiar with the matter said.

The National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) — the nodal agency for retail payments in the country — has already given it the go-ahead, saying WhatsApp Pay has fulfilled all data localisation norms. WhatsApp Pay can go live only after the apex court gives its final verdict in a case in which several parties, including the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and the government have been made a party, according to a top official aware of the discussion.