Recent reports claim that WhatsApp is looking to introduce peer-to-peer payments in India – a move that makes complete sense for the Facebook-owned company.
First, there’s the fact that India is one of WhatsApp’s best performing markets. Each month, it is being used by a considerable 80% of India’s adult online population (which skews considerably young, urban and male).
Also relevant is that Indian internet users are some of the most enthusiastic adopters and users of mobile payment services. As many as 38% say they’ve used their phone to pay for something in the last month – climbing to 43% among WhatsAppers in the country. And this is a trend that will be sure to increase, particularly given last year’s demonetization program in India, which removed more than four-fifths of Indian cash from circulation.
With its vast reach, WhatsApp is in an ideal position to streamline the peer-to-peer payments process and make a serious impact in the industry. And it’s picked an ideal market to test the waters.
