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  1. WhatsApp Pay to be available for all India users as NPCI lifts UPI onboarding limit

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WhatsApp Pay to be available for all India users as NPCI lifts UPI onboarding limit

Upstox

2 min read | Updated on December 31, 2024, 17:02 IST

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SUMMARY

The NPIC removed the restrictions previously imposed during its phased rollout, allowing WhatsApp Pay to compete fully in India's digital payments ecosystem

whatsapp pay upi user limit.webp

In November 2020, NPCI capped WhatsApp Pay’s UPI user base at 20 million.

The National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) on Tuesday lifted the user onboarding limit for WhatsApp Pay, enabling the platform to extend its Unified Payments Interface (UPI) services to its entire user base in India, effective immediately.

WhatsApp Pay, which operates as a Third Party Application Provider (TPAP) under the UPI framework, was initially allowed to onboard a limited number of users. Following Reserve Bank of India’s nod in February 2020, NPCI approved a phased rollout of WhatsApp’s digital payment services, allowing the platform to register up to 10 million users in the first phase.

In November 2020, NPCI--the umbrella organisation for operating retail payments and settlement systems in the country--capped the platform’s UPI user base at 20 million.

The payment service was first introduced in February 2018 under a pilot project for one million users, in partnership with ICICI Bank.

"National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) has removed the UPI user onboarding limit for WhatsApp Pay (Third Party App Provider), with immediate effect," NPCI said in a statement.

"WhatsApp Pay shall continue to comply with all existing UPI guidelines and circulars applicable to existing TPAPs," it added.

With the removal of the onboarding cap, WhatsApp Pay can now target its entire user base in India.

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