WhatsApp pay needs five months to go local & live

BENGALURU: Instant messaging service WhatsApp may take up to five months to fully localise its payments data in India and go live, said two bankers in the know of the matter, after a test launch of its payments service among a limited number of users faced stiff opposition from competitors last year.

Currently, WhatsApp has been permitted to beta-test its payments product within a limited user base of 10 lakh and has been allowed only small-value transactions by the National Payments Corporation of India, which runs the Unified Payments Interface railroad.