NPCI has lifted the existing user limit restrictions for WhatsApp Pay, allowing it to onboard more users, while still requiring compliance with all UPI-related guidelines
In a move that will make Unified Payment Interface (UPI) payments more popular, the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) has removed the UPI user onboarding limit for WhatsApp Pay (Third Party App Provider), with immediate effect. With this WhatsApp can now provide UPI services to its entire user base across India. Previously NPCI had allowed WhatsApp to extend UPI services in a phased manner.
Now, NPCI has removed existing limit restrictions to onboard users on WhatsApp Pay. So, now, the 100 million users cap has been removed and WhatsApp can extend WhatsApp pay to more than 500 million of its users. WhatsApp Pay has to continue to comply with all existing guidelines that pertain to UPI.
NPCI has also pushed back the proposal to implement a proposed 30 per cent cap on any single app’s share of UPI transactions to 30 per cent. The rule will now kick in from December 2026 and will benefit the incumbents.
WhatsApp Pay was launched in 2020. Then a cap of one million users was in place. The cap was further increased to 100 million in 2022.
WhatsApp is one of the most widely used messaging platforms in the country but as a UPI provider, it has a very small share. In October 2024, there were more than 16 billion UPI transactions and Google Pay and Phone Pay amounted to a lion's share of these transactions.
To use WhatsApp Pay, users must first link their bank account to their WhatsApp account. For this one would need to select their bank from a list of banks available. The next step would involve verifying the bank account.
How To Make A Payment On WhatsApp Pay
After the accounts are linked users can send money to their contacts or pay for services directly within the WhatsApp app. To make a payment, users would need to open a chat with a certain recipient, select the payment option, and then enter the amount. The payment will be made after it is authenticated through the UPI PIN. Payments would be processed instantly and the recipient would receive the money directly in their bank account as with any other UPI service.