Heena Sharma Blog

  WhatsApp has launched a new shopping button on its app that will allow users to browse through a business' catalogue, the Facebook-owned messaging service said in a press release. With the new feature, people will be able to see a storefront icon, right next to the business' name. This will make it easier for users to discover a catalogue and look at what goods or services are offered, WhatsApp said in the emailed release. Earlier, users had to click on the business profile to see if it offered a ready list of items. The button will also help businesses boost the visibility of their products. "This will make it easier for businesses to have their products discovered which can help increase sales," the email said. The shopping button will replace the voice call button. Now, users will have to tap on the call button to select either a voice or video call. The new feature has been launched worldwide, the messaging service added. Read More

  The government has finally allowed Facebook to start operating its WhatsApp payments service in the world's biggest open technology market, that's India.Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg today announced that no fee will be charged for sending money via WhatsApp as the company rolled out its payments services in India. In 2018, WhatsApp had started testing its UPI-based payments service in India, which allows users to utilise the messaging platform to send and receive money.The testing was limited to about a million users as it waited for regulatory approvals to come in.On Thursday, NPCI allowed WhatsApp to start its payments service in the country in a "graded" manner, starting with a maximum registered user base of 20 million in UPI. Read More

The latest security incident around WhatsApp could have a bearing on the launch of its digital payment services in India as these systems need to be "fool-proof", a senior government official said. Asked if the Pegasus snooping row could impact WhatsApp's digital payment plans that are still awaiting regulator approvals, the official said the incident will certainly raise question on seriousness of the plans and security aspects, particularly since digital payment is all about fool-proof systems. An e-mail sent to WhatApp on the issue remained unanswered. The messaging app, which has about 400 million users in India, has been testing its payments service in the country since last year with about a million users. WhatsApp's service will compete against the likes of Paytm, PhonePe and Google Pay as and when it is rolled out nationally in India. Official sources said the government is "disturbed" about WhatsApp's lack of disclosures on the hac...

WhatsApp Global Head Will Cathcart on Wednesday said the company could roll out its payments service to users across India later this year. The messaging app , which has about 400 million users in India, has been testing its payments in the country since last year with about a million users. Cathcart said the company's vision is to make sending money as easy as sending a message on the platform. "We believe that if we get this right, it will accelerate financial inclusion and bring value for people in India's fast growing digital economy, We can't wait to provide the service more of our users all across India later this year," he said at an event. WhatsApp's service, which would compete against the likes of Paytm, PhonePe and Google Pay, is yet to be rolled out nationally in India. The Facebook-owned company, which has over 1.5 billion users globally, is looking rolling out its payments service in other markets as well. WhatsApp's ambitious ...