India’s digital payments ecosystem has become an integral part of everyday transactions, with the Unified Payments Interface (UPI) increasingly used for payments ranging from small shops to large shopping malls and online businesses. WhatsApp Pay is also gradually expanding its presence in the market.
According to available data for July 2026, WhatsApp Pay recorded around 16.78 crore UPI transactions, with the total value of these transactions at approximately Rs 12,957 crore. The figures indicate growing use of payment services integrated directly into the messaging platform.
WhatsApp, which is primarily known for messaging, calling and sharing photos and videos, is increasingly being used in India to send and receive money through UPI.
WhatsApp Pay continues to trail major UPI platforms such as PhonePe and Google Pay in transaction volumes.
According to UPI transaction data recorded in July 2026, PhonePe processed around 10.85 billion transactions. Google Pay recorded approximately 7.64 billion transactions, while Paytm registered around 1.90 billion UPI transactions during July.
By comparison, WhatsApp Pay’s 16.78 crore transactions were considerably lower. The available figures therefore do not indicate that WhatsApp Pay has directly reduced usage of PhonePe or Google Pay. The leading UPI applications continue to maintain their positions in terms of transaction volumes.
WhatsApp’s user base and its presence in everyday communication provide an integrated payment option. Users communicating with friends, relatives or businesses can make payments directly from the chat window without opening a separate payment application.
WhatsApp Pay enables users to make UPI payments within the chat with the person they are communicating with. Users can send a share of expenses to a friend or make a payment to a small business while continuing the conversation in the same chat.
The feature allows users to combine messaging and payments on a single platform. For users who prefer to manage communication and payments through one application, the integrated payment facility provides an alternative to switching between different apps.
To make UPI payments through WhatsApp, users first need to link their bank account to the payment feature in the app. The general process is as follows:
- Open WhatsApp and go to Settings.
- Select the Payments option.
- Tap Add New Payment Method.
- Select the bank from the list.
- Complete SMS verification using the mobile number registered with the bank.
- Set or link the UPI PIN.
Once the process is completed, users can send and receive UPI payments through WhatsApp.
To make a payment, users need to open the chat of the person to whom they want to send money. They can then tap the payment or rupee option, enter the payment amount and complete the transaction by entering the UPI PIN.
After a successful payment, a transaction confirmation appears in the chat.
