The WhatsApp Payment Feature will show a new method of money transfer on its Android beta version which will allow the user to Request Money from friends. The WhatsApp ‘Payment Feature’ will be available on the Android Beta version of the app, and the regular users may not see it on the current version. The Android Beta version 2.18.113 has the feature live. It was found that the ‘Request Payment’ feature was available on the beta version, but not in regular Android versions of WhatsApp where the Payments feature was also active.
WhatsApp Payment Feature is live in our country and the beta version is still under testing for any misfit features of the feature. The feature is built upon the UPI, or the Unified Payments Interface, and allows for direct transfers via the bank account, provided that the UPI id is linked with the bank account. UPI feature requires that the bank account be linked with the SIM Verification for the feature to work, and a user requires a mobile number to be linked to it. The same mobile number should be used with WhatsApp account as well, in order to allow the Payment feature to work its magic.
So what is the ‘Request Money’ feature and how will it work on WhatsApp Payments?
It should be noted that the Payment Request feature is available on every UPI based payments app like Google Tez, PhonePe, Paytm, etc. The feature requires you to scan a QR Code or enter an UPI ID for payments on the platform. This is available on both operating system Android as well as iOS. The advantage of the Request Money feature is that the user need not be on WhatsApp, and could have an UPI id with any other app.
The new Request Payment feature will allow users to ask money from any contacts in their address book, and the availability of this feature was first reported online. To request money from someone via WhatsApp Pay, the user needs to go to Settings> Payments > New Payments. Here they will have to choose the UPI ID or the Scan QR code right on top, followed by list of contacts. Choose either UPI ID or Scan QR Code.
WhatsApp will show two options one next to the other, one to Request Money and the other Send Money. The Feature to allow Payment Request was available on WhatsApp Beta which was tested and appeared on the Google Tez App. This was because the UPI id to which the request was sent was created on Tez. The request money request will be available only for 24 hours from which the request is sent.
Once the request is availed of and the request completed the money will be credited instantly to a user’s bank account. WhatsApp will then also show a list of payment requests in the Payment Settings, and the status of these requests. It needs to be seen when the feature will be made live as the feature will only be available on the beta version and not on the live vesion.
The Payment Feature of WhatsApp had come under criticism as it did not support all the features of UPI when it launched, like allowing the user to scan a QR code and make a payments to a UPI ID. But the company has slowly started rolling out all these features. Payment features is still on a beta testing on WhatsApp. However, users who have Payments can notify their friends, who might not have got the feature to activate the same on their WhatsApp accounts.
