WhatsApp may soon let you make UPI payments to international businesses

Indian users may soon be able to make international transactions via UPI within the app.

Meta has been fast expanding WhatsApp's payments capabilities (Image: Zohaib Ahmed/The Indian Express)

WhatsApp is reportedly working on a new feature that will enable Indian users to make international payments seamlessly through the Unified Payments Interface (UPI). This upcoming capability, dubbed “International Payments,” was recently unveiled by a tipster on X/Twitter.

The feature lets WhatsApp users in India transfer funds directly to select international merchants, provided their banks have activated international UPI services. The integration may help streamline global financial transactions, eliminating the need for cumbersome intermediaries or complex banking processes.

International Payments on WhatsApp through UPI for Indian users.

This is currently not available for users. But WhatsApp might be working on it as I couldn't find anything on Google about it.

Apps like Phonepe, GPay and some others already support this. #Whatsapp pic.twitter.com/OE2COo89eZ

— AssembleDebug (@AssembleDebug) March 25, 2024

It seems the international payment functionality will require manual activation by users, who will have the flexibility to specify the duration for which they wish to keep the feature active. Notably, WhatsApp is considering allowing users to extend this duration up to three months.

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While the international payment feature is currently under development and not yet available to the general public, it is expected to be rolled out to a limited number of beta testers in the near future.

Complementing this upcoming international payment capability, WhatsApp is also testing an enhanced user experience for its existing UPI payment system within India. Reports suggest that the messaging app is experimenting with a new location for the QR code scanner shortcut for UPI payments.

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