Whatsapp introduced Shopping & Payment Gateway
Facebook, on November launched a new shopping button in WhatsApp business web globally, including in India, which will make it easier for users to check out the business catalogs. Whatsapp business will make products available and will make purchases easy right from a chat. The tool will make it easier for people to discover goods or services that are being offered by particular businesses. To use the voice call button, a user needs to tap on the call button to select either a voice or video call for the business account.
According to Whatsapp, once users will ping or click on the shopping button which looks like a storefront front icon, they will immediately know that the business has catalogs & will start browsing the products. They will start conversations with the business & will be able to browse the product or services at much ease. As per WhatsApp, this new shopping button can now be used across the world, and it will replace the voice call button on business accounts.
According to Whatsapp, more than 175 million people use WhatsApp Business account every day, and more than 40 million people view business catalogs each month, which includes more than 3 million in India. In India, over 20 million users will use the Payments tab featured powered by Unified Payments Interface (UPI) & the service will now be rolling out officially by the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI). The payments service is supported by UPI and will allow direct bank transfer payments from Whatsapp itself.
WhatsApp payments:
Ways to set up your account
Step 1 : Open the WhatsApp app on your phone and tap on the three-dotted icon on the top right corner of the screen.
Step 2 : Tap on Payments section > Add payment method. Check the list of bank names.
Step 3 : After selecting the name of the bank, we need to verify your number (linked with the bank). For this, tap on Verify via SMS. Note, WhatsApp number must be the same as the one linked to your bank account.
Step 4 : Once the verification process is completed, finish setting up payments. Set up a UPI pin for carrying out transactions similar to how it is on other apps. After this, check the chosen bank on the payments page.
Last week, India launched the broader use of WhatsApp Pay by which WhatsApp facilitated the addition of funds & fund transfer within the app.
WhatsApp Pay:
How to send or receive money
Step 1 : Once you open the chat of the person on WhatsApp account, you need to tap on the attachment icon.
Step 2 : Next, you need to tap on the Payment option and add the amount you want to send to the individual. One can also add a note.
Step 3 : Complete the WhatsApp payment process by entering your UPI PIN. You will get a confirmation message once the transaction is completed.
The Whatsapp shopping button will help the user to browse the product-listing in-app or whatsapp web online where we can select items & tap through items. Since Whatsapp for business is a widely used messaging app for millions of users, the addition of a fund transfer option within the app will be beneficial to the users. Ads in WhatsApp did not work, but if Facebook can make WhatsApp a more useful & critical tool, it will brand for using it or take a percentage of transactions for facilitating the connections. Whatsapp is not as big as Messenger in the Western market, but since Whatsapp has 2 billion active users worldwide, it will make in-stream messaging more habitual & create a range of opportunities for the brand.
Not only that, WhatsApp will make it easier for people to make subsequent purchases if they’re moving money through the app & paying for goods. Digistart can make WhatsApp a key eCommerce provider in your region.