Overview
- WhatsApp, which announced the feature Thursday, now lets people recharge prepaid mobile numbers without leaving the app on Android and iOS.
- Users can top up their own number or someone else’s, browse Jio, Airtel and Vi plans, and pay using UPI, debit cards or credit cards.
- A new ₹ icon on the home screen and inside chats opens a payments hub for recharges, person-to-person transfers and metro ticket access.
- The rollout is staggered across India, and PayU said availability will expand to every account in roughly two weeks.
- The update pushes more everyday tasks into WhatsApp as it seeks higher payments use in India, where NPCI data show 130 million UPI transactions in March versus billions on PhonePe and Google Pay.