WhatsApp Payments expands to another 60 million users: Here are steps to set it up

WhatsApp launched its payment service option based on Unified Payments Interface (UPI) in 2020. However, the cap was limited to 20 million users, which was increased to 40 million users last year in November. Now, the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI)—the body which handles UPI and its rules—has approved an additional 60 million users on WhatsApp Payments, bringing the total to its 100 million users.
As WhatsApp Payments expands to more users across India, here’s a quick guide on how to set up the option. The advantage with WhatsApp Payments is that it is might be more convenient to use for inter-personal payments with friends, family members, given all of the contacts are usually saved here.
Here is a quick guide on how to activate WhatsApp Pay on your smartphones right away:
How to set up WhatsApp Payments for iOS users:
Step-1: Open WhatsApp and tap on ‘Settings’.
Step 2: Tap on ‘Payments’ and then tap on ‘Add New Payment Method’.
Step-3: A popup window will appear showing a ‘Continue’ button on the bottom centre of the screen comes up. Tap on ‘Continue’ and follow it with the name of your preferred bank in the ‘Search’ section. Click on ‘Verify’ on the top right side of your screen.
Remember WhatsApp Payment is based on UPI so it uses your mobile number linked to the bank account to verify your identity. So make sure the WhatsApp account number is the same as the one which is linked to your bank.
Step-4: A new popup window takes you the iMessage application on your iOS. Click on the ‘Upward green Arrow’ button or the send button.
Step-5: WhatsApp will now verify your bank account with the prevalent phone number in a couple of seconds. Once verified, click on ‘Add’.
Step-6: After this WhatsApp will identify the accounts linked with your mobile number. If you have multiple accounts with that bank, you can choose which one you want added and then just tap on Add.
Steps to set up WhatsApp Pay on Apple iOS.
Once done you can now send payments.
If you want to pay an individual contact, you can just tap the Plus symbol next to the chatbox inside the chat. Keep in mind that the person will need to set up payments on WhatsApp as well. Or you can also send money to the recipients regular UPI id, which they use with any other app, and it will get sent as well.
For Android users:
Step-1:Open WhatsApp. Click on the three dots on the top right corner of your screen to access settings. Then click on ‘Payments’.
Step-2: Under Payment methods, click on ‘Add Payment Method’. Then click ‘Continue’. Search for your preferred bank in the ‘Search’ Section. Click on ‘Verify’.
Step-3: A popup seeking permission to ‘Allow WhatsApp to send and view SMS Messages’ shows up. Click on ‘Allow’.
Step-4: WhatsApp will now verify whether the provided mobile number is linked to the preferred bank account. Click on ‘Add’ once the bank account number shows up.
Steps to set up WhatsApp Pay on Android.
That’s it WhatsApp Payments is activated. You can send and request payments from any contact now, similar to how the process works on iOS The transacted amount will directly go into your bank account.