Facebook’s WhatsApp is getting into digital payments in India, a first for a global messaging service that’s only just begun to explore ways to generate revenue.
It’s chosen to kick off that maiden effort in India, a market dominated by Alibaba-backed digital payments leader PayTM but where WhatsApp’s 200m users outnumber any other country.
WhatsApp wants to “contribute more to India’s vision for digital commerce”, it said in a statement on Wednesday.
The company also advertised on its website for a “digital transactions lead, India” to be based in Menlo Park, California, but with an ability to understand local financial standards such as India’s digital-ID programme Aadhaar and its banking payments interface.
Facebook agreed to buy WhatsApp for US$19bn in 2014, though that price tag eventually rose to $22bn because of the social networks’ rising stock.
Investors have been anxious to see how Mark Zuckerberg makes money from the deal.
Rival services in Asia, most notably Tencent’s WeChat, have successfully opened up their platforms so businesses can interact with customers. It’s a strategy Facebook has also been taking with its own communications app, Messenger.
Source - TechCentral