INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
upsurge in digital payments in its dominant market.WhatsApp is ubiquitous across India, where data consumption is surging thanks to cheap
internet, but a full launch of its payments feature had been delayed amid some false messages circulating on the platform that have led to
mob lynching and more government scrutiny, according to local media.The Menlo Park, California-based firm has also been trying to comply
with Indian regulations including data storage norms that require all payments-related data to be stored locally."It's a regulatory
approval question in India at this point," Facebook Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg said on Thursday on the company's earnings conference
call in reference to WhatsApp Pay."We're also working beyond India in a number of other countries and hope to have this rolled out to a
familiar with the matter said on Friday, encompassing almost a third of India's population of 130 crore.WhatsApp's payments feature
would compete with a crowded market in India that includes Alphabet Inc's Google Pay, Softbank- and Alibaba-backed Paytm and Walmart's
PhonePe, all of which are used, especially in cities, to pay for everything from groceries to Uber rides.Digital payments, lending and
e-wallet services have been growing rapidly in India, led by a government push to bring more of the country's cash-loving merchants and
consumers into the formal economy."Payments services are critical to ..bringing millions more people into India's fast-growing digital
India's top government think tank NITI Aayog to promote women's entrepreneurship."We can't wait to provide this service to our users
across India this year," Mr Cathcart said.WhatsApp will use India's Unified Payments Interface (UPI) standard used by many other digital
earlier.Get Breaking news, live coverage, and Latest News from India and around the world on TheIndianSubcontinent.com
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