WhatApp Payment feature has been made available to some iOS and Android users in beta version.
With over 200 million active users in India, WhatsApp recently rolled out Payments feature to send and receive money. This feature is expected to benefit a large number of users by ensuring hassle free transactions.
Let’s take a look at how you can make use of the WhatsApp payment feature to send and receive money from people in your contact through your Smartphone.
An Overview Of WhatsApp Payment Feature
WhatsApp Payment feature has been made available to some users in beta version for both iOS and Android users. A larger roll out of the same is expected soon. If you have not received the WhatsApp payment feature in your mobile app, then all you may need is a Unified Payments Interface (UPI) enabled bank account and an invite from a friend or person in your contact list with the feature enabled on his phone. WhatsApp Payments feature integrates the use of UPI which has been developed by the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) under the guidelines of the Reserve bank of India to promote cashless economy.
WhatsApp Payment Essentials
Being integrated to UPI the WhatsApp payment feature works on a peer to peer transfer mode. This means that you can make use of the feature to directly credit money to the recipient’s bank account. WhatsApp payment cannot be used for any merchant payments like online shopping etc. The pre-condition to use WhatsApp payment is to ensure both you and the recipient have the WhatsApp Payment feature on their phones. Also your WhatsApp number must be same as the mobile number linked to your bank account with UPI.
Linking bank Account Go WhatsApp Payment
Before sending or receiving money using WhatsApp Payment feature, you will need to link your bank account number to the app.
Step 1: To add your bank account go to Settings > Payments > Bank Accounts.
Step 2: Click on ‘Add new account’ and go through the terms and conditions and click on ‘accept and continue’
Step 3: The next step is to verify your mobile number using SMS. The app will send an SMS to be verified by manual entry.
Step 4: Choose the bank account you want to add for UPI-enabled payment. (Currently over 70 Private and PSU banks are supported by WhatsApp payments).
Step 5: The App will auto fetch details using your mobile number and show your bank account details. If you have multiple bank accounts, you can choose the bank account you want to link with the app manually.
Step 6: Set up a 4 digit UPI PIN. This PIN will be used for all payment transactions.
Sending Money From WhatsApp Payment
Now that you have linked your bank account to the WhatsApp payment app, here is an easy step wise process to send money to people in your contact list.
Step 1: Open WhatsApp chat window for the person you would like to transfer money to.
Step 2: Use the clip icon at the bottom to open the menu and find the ‘payment’ tab.
Step 3: Clicking on the payment tab will open a new window where you will be asked to manually enter the amount to be transferred.
Step 4: After entering the amount, you will have to confirm your 4 digit UPI PIN.
Step 5: The payment is successfully made to your contact.
Receiving Money Through WhatsApp Payment
Receiving money through WhatsApp Payments is easy and WhatsApp will intimate you with a message once a payment is made to your bank account linked with the payment.
WhatsApp Payment offers a history and maintains logs for all payments made and received. You can add multiple bank accounts to send and receive money and marking them as primary or secondary as per your convenience.
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