Indian officials are now concerned that WhatsApp payment service might share data with group companies Instagram & Whatsapp, compromising the privacy, security and-commercial information of its subscribers.
The government has also asked the National Payment Corporation of India to look into the matter and make sure that user data collected with the payment services such as the Google pay and Whatsapp is not shared, according to the report. NPCI is the agency that works in the retail payment and settlement systems in India.
Whatsapp proposed payment service is based on the UPI, a system that enables a real-time transfer of funds between the bank accounts. “WhatsApp so far has said that Facebook and its non-WhatsApp subsidiaries do not use WhatsApp UPI transaction data for any commercial purposes,” one official said.
The popular instant messaging chat app plans to roll out its payment service in India by the end of the year, revealed the Will Cathcart, Whatsapp new Global head who is soon going to visit the country.
Company official revealed Whatsapp expects its user based to surge after starting the payment service. “WhatsApp is already ubiquitous in India and payments will just be a default option on the app, unlike other apps which people will have to download separately,” they said.
“We built payments based on the UPI standard, partnered with banks here in India… We believe that if we did this right, it will accelerate financial inclusion and bring more people in India’s fast-growing digital economy,” Cathcart said on Thursday.
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