WhatsApp has been working on developing its Payments feature in India for quite some time now. The company kind of dropped a hint in January that it will roll out the payment feature to some users in February. Keeping its promise, the Facebook owned messaging app has rolled out the payment feature to some of the users who are using the Beta version of the app on Android and iOS.
The WhatsApp version with payment option is different for the Android users and the iOS users. For Android users, the version number 2.18.41 has the payment option enabled. While for iOS users, the version number with payment option is 2.18.21. The feature is still not available for all the users since it is a server-side rollout.
WhatsApp payments uses UPI (Unified Payment Interface) for money transfer, making it safe and secure. The payment option is available alongside with other options like the gallery, video, and documents on the attachments menu inside a chat.
After taping the payment option, you will see a list of banks to choose from. You have to select the bank you have your account in and after choosing the bank, the user needs to verify the bank account just like other UPI services. The user also needs to create a security PIN or UPI Pin to authenticate the account.
The payment feature is in the final stages and is expected to start rolling out in the coming days. With the payment feature embedded right into the WhatsApp, users will be able to quickly send and receive money without having to install any other app dedicated for payments.
