From physically going to the bank to online banking to money transfers via messenger: the banking industry is going through a transformation. WhatsApp wants to push this process forward. The messenger has implemented a payment function with WhatsApp Payments.
There are numerous industries that are being transformed by digitalization. The banking industry is definitely at the forefront.
And although both the banks and the users know that physically going to the financial institution will be a thing of the past, the banks in Germany, which so far have operated primarily offline, have so far kept up with the pressure of digitalization.
The reason for this is a combination of two factors. On the one hand, Germans are cautious and concerned about security. This applies in particular to sensitive data. On the other hand, there is only a very small selection of digital alternatives for classic financial operations like the money transfer.
All in all, this shows an industry which is in a state of upheaval, but still not yet at risk.
WhatsApp Payments: The Power of the Masses?
Facebook is a digital player that has been dealing with financial transactions for a long time. The social network now apparently wants to start allowing financial transaction through WhatsApp. The WhatsApp Payments feature has been developed for this purpose.
This function was first discovered by the WhatsApp specialist WABetaInfo in the beta version 2.17.295 of the messenger.
Through WhatsApp Payments, users are given the opportunity to transfer money to friends and businesses. There is, therefore, a clear link between the new payment function and the new business features.
WhatsApp Payments start in India
In the current version, WhatsApp’s service partner is the National Payments Corporation of India. Their UPI (Unified Payments Interface) payment system is used to process the transfers.
This cooperation also suggests that the payment feature could first start in the WhatsApp mass market of India. It’s not clear yet when and if the payment function will come to Germany.
