CCI rejects petition alleging WhatsApp using clout to enter payment space

The Competition Commission of India (CCI) has dismissed a petition against WhatsApp which alleged that the Facebook-owned instant messaging app is using its dominant market position to launch payment services in India.

Even though the competition watchdog observed that the two entities “undeniably deal with customer sensitive data which is amenable to misuse and may raise potential antitrust concerns among other data protection issues”, it said in its order that the UPI digital payments market consists of various established players competing vigorously and that users of WhatApp Pay were less than 1 per cent in India. “Its actual conduct is yet to manifest in the market,” CCI said in its 41-page order.