WhatsApp is bringing a new payments feature for Android users. Note that the feature is currently available in the beta version of the application, and it will take some time for it to arrive in the stable version. The new ‘Payments Shortcut’ that WhatsApp is adding is aimed to make paying a contact an even seamless process for the users. As per a WABetaInfo report, WhatsApp will now show a new ‘payments’ icon in between the camera and attachments icons on the chat window. Users will be able to just click on the payments shortcut button and make a direct payment. The button is available for all Indian Android users who have installed the WhatsApp Beta Android version 2.21.17. WhatsApp is also working to develop the button for iOS users. This payment shortcut would definitely ease the pain of clicking more buttons on the screen.
WhatsApp Added Payments Backgrounds
A few days back, WhatsApp had also added new Payments Backgrounds for Indian users. This feature allows users to personalise their payments to another level. There are theme-based backgrounds that users can choose, just like Google Pay also offers. This helps users in categorising the kind of payment they are making to the other users. WhatsApp is trying really hard to incentivise users into using its Payments feature over the others such as Google Pay and PhonePe. Regardless of having such a large user base, it is quite impossible for WhatsApp to make any dents in the market share of Google Pay or PhonePe. This is because both the prominent money transaction apps offer cashbacks, brand vouchers and have also partnered with other companies to offer benefits to the users. WhatsApp will have to come out with a clever strategy into making people believe that they should use its platform for payments rather than other applications. But it will be a tough thing to do.
