QR codes, those complicated squares nobody cared about until a pandemic insisted they were essential to our everyday lives, are about to take on a new importance in WhatsApp. Specifically, Unified Payment Interface Identity or UPI ID, QR codes. UPI ID acts as a virtual payment address for online transactions. With this addition, WhatsApp will add a hugely useful way of making person-to-person payments.
Payments between users are already possible in WhatsApp, and this new feature, spotted by the reliably ahead-of-the-curve WABetaInfo, introduces the capability to make payments quicker and more conveniently.
Fewer steps will be required, and WABetaInfo says it works like this: “Some beta testers now have the opportunity to explore a new shortcut directly within the chats list, enabling them to scan any UPI QR code. Since many people are already using payments on WhatsApp to securely send and receive money in India, this feature proves to be very beneficial for users, making it even more convenient for them to perform transactions within the app.”
The new update means that the QR scanner appears within the chats list screen, making it much easier to use. As the report says, “This process not only saves time but also enhances the overall user experience, making the scanning experience more intuitive. Additionally, considering the widespread adoption of digital payments in India, we believe that this feature aligns perfectly with WhatsApp’s mission to facilitate secure and efficient communication and fast transactions for its users.”
This will become even more useful, it seems, if a leak from tipster AssembleDebug is right. They say that WhatsApp could be working on implementing international payments though UPI for users in India. This is something already supported by GPay and Phonepe, but not by WhatsApp in India.
As the Times of India comments, “International payments are supposed to be enabled for every bank account manually… Users will also have the option to choose the start date and end date for the service. This means users can enable it on a set date and then it will turn off automatically as per the set instructions.”
It looks like it will only function in countries where banks have enabled international UPI services. And where rival services like Google Pay has a seven-day transaction period, this could last as long as three months.
This new feature, which isn’t even in beta yet, suggests that WhatsApp is working towards increasing its market share in digital payments, with India a main focus, though potentially in other countries. I’ll report back as more details emerge.
