WhatsApp is one of the most popular messaging platforms in the world, with over 2 billion active users. In recent years, WhatsApp has introduced new features aimed at business users, including the WhatsApp Business app. One of the key features that businesses and users have been asking for is payment integration. So does WhatsApp Business have a payment option?
Introduction to WhatsApp Business
WhatsApp launched the WhatsApp Business app in 2018 as a way for businesses to have a presence on WhatsApp and more easily communicate with customers. Some key features of WhatsApp Business include:
- Business profile – Businesses can create a business profile with key information like a description, email, store address, and website.
- Messaging tools – The app provides messaging tools like quick replies, greeting messages, and away messages to streamline business communication.
- Statistics – Businesses can review simple metrics within the app to see how many messages were sent, delivered, read, etc.
- Green badges – Verified business profiles get a green verification badge to indicate legitimacy.
The WhatsApp Business API was also launched for larger companies to be able to integrate WhatsApp messaging into their platforms. WhatsApp Business has proven popular, with over 50 million businesses using it.
Payment services on WhatsApp
WhatsApp initially started testing payments through WhatsApp in India back in 2018. The peer-to-peer payment feature allowed users to send and receive money to one another using WhatsApp Pay. This feature gradually rolled out to users in Brazil and Mexico as well. However, there were regulatory issues that prevented widespread rollout of payments on WhatsApp.
In 2020, Facebook (now Meta) received approval for WhatsApp to expand WhatsApp Pay in India through the United Payments Interface (UPI) developed by the National Payments Corporation of India. This system allows instant transfer of funds between bank accounts using a virtual payment address. WhatsApp Pay can leverage UPI for seamless payments within WhatsApp.
WhatsApp Pay for personal accounts
WhatsApp Pay is currently available for personal WhatsApp accounts in the following countries:
- Brazil
- India
- Mexico
In India, where adoption has been the highest, over 100 million users have tried WhatsApp Pay. Users can send money to anyone in their WhatsApp contacts and can set up transaction authentication through SMS or biometrics.
WhatsApp Pay for business accounts
While person-to-person and consumer payments are available on WhatsApp in some regions, WhatsApp Pay is not yet available for WhatsApp Business accounts. Meta has announced plans to bring payment capabilities to businesses in the future, but an exact timeline has not been provided.
Based on job listings for WhatsApp Pay, it appears there will be dedicated engineering teams working on merchant payment integrations. So the option for businesses to accept payments via WhatsApp Pay does seem to be in development.
Benefits of WhatsApp Pay for businesses
When WhatsApp Pay does launch for businesses, there are some major potential benefits:
- Seamless checkout – Customers could complete purchases without leaving the WhatsApp chat.
- Increased conversion – Having payment integrated can increase conversions vs. directing users to an external site.
- Customer data – Transactions done on WhatsApp Pay may provide businesses with more customer purchase data and insights.
- Emerging markets reach – WhatsApp Pay can help businesses access emerging markets where WhatsApp is popular.
Small businesses and online merchants have the most to potentially gain from WhatsApp Pay. It could become an additional sales channel alongside their website, physical store, or selling through marketsplaces.
WhatsApp Pay challenges
There are still some key challenges to overcome before WhatsApp Pay becomes a reality for businesses:
- Regulatory approvals – WhatsApp will need to get approval country-by-country for business accounts to use payments.
- Competing services – Services like PayPal, Stripe, Razorpay, etc. are already available payment options for businesses.
- User adoption – Users will have to get in the habit of making purchases through WhatsApp Business accounts.
- Platform fees – It’s unclear if businesses will pay any transaction or platform fees to WhatsApp.
WhatsApp will need to provide competitive rates and seamless integration for businesses to adopt WhatsApp Pay over other payment services. As a free messaging platform, users may also not be keen on paying additional fees for transactions.
WhatsApp Business payment timeline
It’s clear that WhatsApp Pay for businesses is on the roadmap, but an exact timeline is unknown. Here are some possible timeframes:
| Scenario | Potential timeline |
|---|---|
| Slow rollout | 2023-2025+ |
| Moderate rollout | 2024-2025 |
| Faster rollout | 2023-2024 |
Given the complexity of enabling payments across different countries and regulatory environments, the slow rollout scenario seems most likely. Certain countries may get access in 2023, but broader access likely won’t happen until 2024 or beyond.
How businesses can prepare
Until WhatsApp Pay becomes available, there are a few things businesses can do to prepare:
- Optimize your WhatsApp Business profile
- Automate messages to engage customers
- Provide payment links to your website checkout
- Build anticipation with social media posts
- Evaluate your tech stack integrations
- Review payment provider options
Optimizing the shopping experience both on WhatsApp and your website will ensure that you’ll be ready to enable WhatsApp Pay as soon as it launches. Proactively preparing for an omnichannel experience will help maximize sales.
Conclusion
In summary – while WhatsApp Pay is already available for peer-to-peer transfers in some regions, payment capabilities have not yet launched for WhatsApp Business accounts. However, Meta has confirmed plans to bring payments to businesses in the future. Given the regulatory and adoption challenges, the widespread launch of WhatsApp Pay for businesses still seems at least 1-2 years out. But businesses should start preparing now to take advantage of this new functionality when available to boost sales and customer convenience.