WhatsApp Pay, the digital payment service integrated into the messaging app, has received approval to expand its Unified Payments Interface (UPI) services to all users in India, following a significant development by the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI). The NPCI has officially lifted the previous cap on user onboarding, allowing WhatsApp Pay to offer UPI services to its entire user base in the country.
When WhatsApp Pay was first launched, the NPCI imposed strict limits on the number of users that could be onboarded. This cautious approach ensured that the service could scale up without compromising on security or performance. Initially, WhatsApp Pay could only onboard a small fraction of UPI users, and the cap was gradually raised after performance evaluations. In November 2022, the cap was increased to 100 million users, allowing WhatsApp Pay to further refine its operations.
This cap was lifted after the NPCI confirmed that WhatsApp Pay had met all necessary operational, security, and compliance standards for UPI services. With this move, WhatsApp Pay is now able to offer its payment services to over 500 million users in India, significantly expanding its potential reach and competing more aggressively with established players in the UPI space such as PhonePe, Google Pay, and Paytm.
While WhatsApp Pay can now extend its services to a larger audience, it still needs to comply with all existing UPI guidelines applicable to third-party app providers (TPAPs). This includes adhering to security protocols and transaction limits.
In addition, the decision to lift the onboarding cap aligns with a broader update from the NPCI. The regulatory body has extended the deadline for compliance with its market cap rule for UPI service providers. Under the 2021 regulation, no single UPI app was allowed to handle more than 30% of total UPI transactions. The deadline for this rule has now been extended to December 31, 2026, allowing dominant players like PhonePe and Google Pay, which currently exceed the 30% cap, additional time to comply with the regulation.
This regulatory shift could reshape the competitive dynamics in India’s digital payments sector, with WhatsApp Pay positioning itself as a strong contender in a market that is rapidly growing due to the country’s push for a cashless economy.
