WhatsApp plans pilot projects in India to deliver pension and insurance services

WhatsApp could bring over 200 million new users to UPI: Abhijeet Bose

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WhatsApp has plans to tie up with more banks in India as it is looking to scale up its messaging platform and WhatsApp Business API (application programme interface). It is also planning multiple pilot projects with partners, to develop and scale-up solutions that it feels will address problems in ensuring many financial products like pension and insurance reach the unorganised as well as the rural workforce.

Earlier this year, private lenders like ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank and Kotak Mahindra Bank had launched banking services over WhatsApp. Customers of these banks using the service get basic services like checking account balance, last few transactions, instant loan offers, block, unblock cards among other things, through the platform. Buoyed by success, WhatsApp wants to expand the partnerships.

“All banks have their mobile banking app, with comprehensive and rich functionality. The question we asked, how can we use WhatsApp’s reach, security through end-to-end encryption as well as simple user experience to complement their banking app optimised for a few but important services. Early examples from ICICI, HDFC and Kotak Bank have been very well received. Now, with the initial proofs of concepts in place, we now want to open up, with more banks over the coming year, to help simplify and expand banking services, especially to the rural and lower-income segments,” WhatsApp’s India head Abhijeet Bose, said.

Speaking during the Global Fintech Fest organised by the Fintech Convergence Council and Payment Council of India, he said collective aim over the next 2-3 years should be to help low wage workers in the unorganised and informal economy to easily access products like insurance, micro-credit and pensions and it would engage in several pilot projects with partners for the same. It also aims to help micro, small and medium enterprises digitise.

“Over the next year and a half, WhatsApp will be supporting multiple pilots to test potential solutions to solve these distribution problems. These pilots will be done jointly with our partners as well as innovative tech partners in each vertical. Each pilot will start with a small experiment and based on the result, we will co-invest and scale the ones that show promise. Even a small conversion of demand will translate into significant infusion of savings into the financial system,” Bose said.

He lauded the various innovations happening in India’s fintech space, which he said were years ahead of any other country. 

WhatsApp, which has over 400 million users in India, has been looking to launch a UPI-based payments service in the country, taking on established players like PhonePay, Google Pay and Paytm head-on. The service has been in a beta stage for more than a year. While Bose didn’t share the exact timeline of its launch in India, he said that widespread adoption of payments through UPI apps was key to scaling up financial services digitally.

Bose said WhatsApp could bring 200 million new users to UPI payments. He also called for UPI to exported and adopted by other countries.

“India is our largest market. While we discover scale here, will become the template for other countries. As a starting point, we do believe India should complete the vision of UPI at home and then bring it to the world immediately and WhatsApp is ready to help. We see the potential of a new global, digital ecosystem built on this platform and we will support showcasing it in other markets,” he added.

UPI, which was launched by the National Payments Corporation of India in 2016, has seen massive growth, with transaction volume hitting a life high of 1.34 billion in June 2010. In value terms, Rs 2.61 lakh crore worth transactions were carried out on the platform, last month.

On Wednesday, NPCI launched UPI AutoPay, a functionality that will allow people to use UPI to make recurring payments more seamlessly.