400 Million WhatsApp Users Might Be “Bad News” For Paytm

WhatsApp, which is owned by Facebook, is planning on launching its UPI-based, peer-to-peer Pay service soon in India. Currently, there are about 400 million people who are using the platform in the country. This doesn’t seem to be good news for the leader of digital payments Paytm which, according to the latest report had only 230 million users.

Amitabh Kant, CEO of The National Institution for Transforming India, also called NITI Aayog, posted on Twitter:

However, WhatsApp did not discuss the figure that NITI Aayog’s CEO - Amitabh Kant cited. This means that the messaging platform gained 200 million more users in India during the last two years. Neither WhatsApp nor Facebook shared any specific information about the number of users in India during the period in between.

Back in 2017, the number of active users on the messaging platform in India was 200 million.

In 2018, the company tested its own payments service in India with one million users. Although there were some difficulties with the framework guidelines for digital payments, the service has come to its final stages.

At a recent press conference held by WhatsApp, the company’s global chief - Cathcart informed the audience:

WhatsApp Pay's arrival in India creates serious tension for not only Paytm, but also Google Pay and PhonePe of Flipkart.

On the occasion of new announcements, the messaging platform also revealed its collaboration with NITI Aayog with the aim of promoting women’s entrepreneurship in India. The global chief Cathcart said:

By the year 2023, it is estimated that the Indian industry of digital payments service is going to hit one trillion dollars.