WhatsApp gets NPCI nod to expand its UPI services

NEW DELHI: Facebook-owned instant messaging platform WhatsApp has received permission from the National Payments Corporation of India to expand its pilot United Payment Interface (UPI) services to 10 million users, according to Nandan Nilekani, the architect of unique identity database Aadhaar and UPI.

Nikelani was speaking at an IIT Industry Conclave event on Friday.

WhatsApp’s payment feature, called WhatsApp Pay, is designed to run on UPI — developed by the NPCI — which allows users to pay others or do business transactions through their bank accounts.

WhatsApp has been running a pilot for one million users and has struggled to get a full-fledged license since the rollout of the project in 2018.