By: Sanchita Ghatak ( Associate Editor-ICN Group )
LUCKNOW: Whatsapp has changed the way we communicate now. There is a paradigm shift in the way of our texting friends or family. Using emoticons or gif images not only upsurges the emotions attached with each message but by attaching a pic which has been clicked just then and even video calling has made Whatsapp a BFF for every individual in the society.
Old grandparents can see the new born baby in the family and hear them speak their first word in an overtly cute tone or the first step they have taken. Its all blessings from this wonderfull APP.
The way Whatsapp is changing its features to provide better modes of communication backed up with latest and very interesting features is incredible. The double blue tick is one of them. The security features ranging from a friend not able to disagree on having received a message, to not allowing somebody to even see the display picture and sometimes block unwanted messager.
Another huge revolution which Whatsapp is rolling out very soon is incorporating UPI based person-to-person payment feature for both Android and iOS.
This feature has been rolled out for beta testers of Whatsapp user in India. This is a step taken by Whatsapp for enhancing digital Payment. They have been working on this feature since 2017 as has been reported in various articles.
Having a base of 250 million in India, which is much higher that the customer base of Paytm (180 million and Google Tez (12 million) is expected to pose a serious threat to the competitors. Seems Whatsapp is seriously following Porter’s Five Force Model to enhance its business.
The payments made through WhatsApp Payments will be accomplished through bank accounts linked to Unified Payments Interface (UPI). It will allow users to transact between different banks accounts. This works in the support of the messaging application as currently there is no such feature of transaction between different digital wallets.
The UPI-based payment feature has been covered in WhatsApp beta version 2.18.41 for Android and 2.18.21 for iOS. It is available in the chats attachment box along with Documents, Pictures, Audio, Location and Contact. When payment option is selected, disclaimer page is displayed followed by a list of banks from which the user has to select a bank which has to be linked to UPI. Users need to create an UPI account, through UPI application or their bank’s website, an authentication PIN will be generated by the UPI payments platform for the first time.
The point to ponder over here is that will WhatsApp really pose a threat to its competitor or Hike – the Indian instant messenger with features like Snapchat-like Stories, Timeline for posts, and most outstandingly ‘Hike Wallet’ create an entry barrier for Whatsapp.
Interestingly Truecaller which started as a Caller ID and phone number identifier has recently launched its UPI based payment system for payments like sending money, scanning and paying, and recharging mobile bills.
It is also noteworthy that Whatsapp payment will be allowed to only the contacts who are using whatsapp like in case of Paytm. Whre transaction can happen only between customers having paytm ID created. Unlike these apps Google Tez allows transaction between any customer who has a bank account.
Thus it is still under contemplation that is it a threat or a fight for survival… is yet to be understood.