<ul><li>Last week Facebook CEO <keyword id="6354630" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="mark-zuckerberg">Mark Zuckerberg</keyword> said he was ‘optimistic’ that <keyword id="790242" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="WhatsApp">WhatsApp</keyword>’s payments feature would launch in India soon. </li><li>The launch of WhatsApp Payments might be hampered as the Indian government raises security concerns after <keyword id="3598670" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="NSO-Group">NSO Group</keyword>’s spyware attack. </li><li>The RBI and NPCI have been asked to consider whether social networking platforms should be allowed to conduct financial transactions in the first place. </li></ul>Mark Zuckerberg was ‘optimistic’ that WhatsApp Payments will be launching in India soon during the <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/apps/news/facebooks-mark-zuckerberg-optimistic-that-whatsapp-pay-will-launch-in-india-soon/articleshow/71832709.cms">company’s earnings call last week</a>. Now there's a new hurdle that the company has to overcome before it can roll out its payments platform — security concerns around the WhatsApp after the recent spyware attack. The Indian government is reportedly in talks with the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) to gauge whether it’s a wise decision to allow social networking platforms to conduct financial transactions, according to <a href="https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/tech/internet/whatsapp-fallout-govt-flags-risks-to-payments-through-social-media-companies/articleshow/71883916.cms">ET</a>. WhatsApp has been testing financial transactions on its app for over a year in India in beta mode but only among a million users, as per regulations. A full roll out of the feature would bring the messaging service’s 400 million users onboard WhatsApp Payments. And, it would go head to head against <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/whatsapp-payments-launching-in-india-against-paytm-google-pay-phone-pe-for-1-trillion-opporunity/articleshow/70376672.cms">Google Pay, PhonePe and Paytm.</a> WhatsApp is yet to gain full approval of its payments platform from necessary authorities and additional security concerns will only hamper the process. WhatsApp’s vulnerability The recent spyware attack that reportedly encroached on the privacy of 1,400 users worldwide and 21 Indian users. <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/apps/news/whatsapp-confirms-indian-activists-and-journalists-were-hacked-as-nso-claims-its-contractually-prohibited/articleshow/71831583.cms">Two dozen</a> of them were journalists and activists. The hack was allegedly carried out by a Israeli security firm — <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/apps/news/whatsapp-hacker-pegasus-spyware-attacked-100-others/articleshow/71851228.cms">the NSO Group</a>. Facebook is in the process of <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/apps/news/heres-why-facebook-is-suing-the-nso-group-over-the-whatsapp-hack/articleshow/71814518.cms">suing NSO</a> for using their flagship software, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/apps/news/jeff-bezos-intimate-messages-data-from-drug-cartels-adnan-kashoggi-the-many-things-pegasus-is-suspected-of-hacking-before-whatsapp/articleshow/71849602.cms">Pegasus</a>, to install spyware on user’s phones in order to obtain remote control. Pegasus can reportedly give the malware’s owner full control of a phone — including using the microphone and cameras to conduct surveillance. According to WhatsApp, it alerted the government to spyware breaching Indian user security twice — once in May and then again in September. But the IT Ministry has responded saying that the details shared by the messaging mobile app were in inadequate and incomplete. New regulations are coming India’s Supreme Court <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/india-supreme-court-order-on-facebook-twitter-and-whatsapp-misuse/articleshow/71275688.cms">directed the central government</a> to form its rules and regulations to govern social media platforms by January 2020. This will bring more clarity around the obligations of WhatsApp and other mobile apps. It light of recent events, it’s possible that these new regulations will include whether or not social networking platforms are allowed to launch their own payments platform. The new guidelines will also determine whether messaging apps are obligated to reveal to origins of messages. WhatsApp maintains that it would be impossible to do so because of end-to-end encryption that doesn’t let anyone read the content of messages except the involved users. <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/indias-demands-to-whatsapp-are-easier-said-than-done/articleshow/65497255.cms">According to the company</a>, breaking that encryption would compromise the guarantee of user privacy. See also: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/whatsapp-payments-launching-in-india-against-paytm-google-pay-phone-pe-for-1-trillion-opporunity/articleshow/70376672.cms">WhatsApp Payments battling Paytm, Google Pay and PhonePe for India's $1 trillion opportunity by end of year</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/apps/news/heres-why-facebook-is-suing-the-nso-group-over-the-whatsapp-hack/articleshow/71814518.cms">Here’s why Facebook is suing the NSO Group over the WhatsApp hack</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/apps/news/jeff-bezos-intimate-messages-data-from-drug-cartels-adnan-kashoggi-the-many-things-pegasus-is-suspected-of-hacking-before-whatsapp/articleshow/71849602.cms">Jeff Bezos’ intimate messages, data from drug cartels, Jamal Kashoggi — the many things Pegasus is suspected of hacking before WhatsApp</a>

WhatsApp spyware hack raises security concerns around its upcoming payments service

<ul><li><keyword id="790242" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="WhatsApp">WhatsApp</keyword> has finally gotten a nod from National Payments Corporation of India to make its payment offering live in India.</li><li>The messaging app stated in a blog that it will be working with five leading banks in India including ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank, Axis Bank, the State Bank of India and <keyword id="3907200" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="jio-payments-bank">Jio Payments Bank</keyword>. </li><li>Its payment feature has been rolled out in 10 Indian regional language versions of WhatsApp.</li></ul>You will finally be able to send money through <keyword id="6354576" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="facebook">Facebook</keyword> Inc’s messaging service WhatsApp in India. WhatsApp made the announcement on its blog after <keyword id="193629" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="NPCI">NPCI</keyword> that operates the UPI payment infrastructure, gave its go-ahead to WhatsApp for its payment feature using UPI. “WhatsApp designed our payments feature in partnership with the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) using the Unified Payment Interface (UPI), an India-first, real-time payment system that enables transactions with over 160 supported banks. We’re excited to join India’s campaign to increase the ease and use of digital payments, which is helping expand financial inclusion in India,” read its statement. WhatsApp's payment feature has been rolled out in 10 Indian regional language versions of WhatsApp. To send money on WhatsApp in India, one needs to have a bank account and debit card in India. WhatsApp will send instructions to banks that initiate the transfer of money via UPI between sender and receiver bank accounts. “We’re delighted to be working with five leading banks in India: ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank, Axis Bank, the State Bank of India, and Jio Payments Bank. People can send money on WhatsApp to anyone using a UPI supported app,” read the statement. Payments on WhatsApp will be available for people on the latest version of the iPhone and Android app.

You can finally send money through WhatsApp in India

<ul class="summary-list"><li><keyword id="6354576" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="facebook">Facebook</keyword> is kicking off a new internal group that will oversee all of the company's payment projects, including Facebook Pay.</li><li>According to a Bloomberg report, the new program will be called Facebook Financial, or F2, and will be run by <keyword id="875353" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="David-Marcus">David Marcus</keyword>, the cocreator of the firm's Libra cryptocurrency project.</li><li>The new group is one of the company's latest efforts as part of its broader foray into commerce and finance.</li></ul>Facebook is launching a new division to expand its payments and commerce ambitions, per a <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-08-10/facebook-financial-formed-to-pursue-company-s-commerce-ambitions?sref=nOLch4DD">Bloomberg</a> report.Facebook Financial — or F2 — will oversee all of the tech giant's payments projects, including Facebook Pay, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/facebook-pay-payments-instagram-whatsapp-messenger-send-money-2019-11">the service launched in 2019</a> that allows users to send and receive money on Facebook, WhatsApp, Instagram, and Messenger.F2 will be run by David Marcus, an exec who led Facebook's Messenger unit for four years before co-creating Facebook's Libra cryptocurrency project."We have a lot of commerce stuff going on across Facebook," Marcus told Bloomberg. "It felt like it was the right thing to do to rationalize the strategy at a company level around all things payments."According to Bloomberg, one of the division's priorities will be rounding out WhatsApp's payments operations in India as well as Brazil, a market it waded into in <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-whatsapp-brazil-payments/facebooks-whatsapp-brings-digital-payment-to-users-in-brazil-idUSKBN23M1MS">June,</a> as well as leaping through regulatory hurdles posed in both markets. Facebook did not immediately respond to Business Insider's request for comment.The new division is one of Facebook's latest efforts to expand into commerce and finance. And as Bloomberg notes, it's also another push toward the firm's broader goal of integrating its apps with its individual products. "As payments grow across Messenger and WhatsApp, and as we're able to roll that out in more places, I think that that will only grow as a trend," Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg said in the company's Q2 earnings call in July, per the outlet.

Facebook is reportedly expanding its banking ambitions with a new division that will run all of the tech giant's payment projects, including Facebook Pay

<ul><li>After Facebook invests $5.7 billion in Reliance Jio, we talk to digital experts to find out what it means for the industry. </li><li>Experts opine that this will be a win-win situation for both the players as Facebook can now cast its net wider, reach out to Tier III and rural markets, and help boost the digital ecosystem. </li></ul>US social media giant Facebook has bought a 9.9% stake in Reliance Jio for $5.7 billion (Rs 43,574 crore). The deal is expected to give the social media giant a stronger foothold in what is seen as Facebook’s largest market. While Facebook has been known for large acquisitions in the past (Instagram, Whatsapp and Oculus), the deal with Reliance Jio only gets it a minority stake. However, it could have some far-reaching implications. We reached out to some digital experts who spoke to us about the possible implications of this move. Here’s what they had to say: <keyword id="2705387" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Shamsuddin-Jasani">Shamsuddin Jasani</keyword>, Group MD, Isobar - South Asia: The investment from Facebook in Jio is going to be a big game-changer. I believe this is just the start of a longer collaboration, which is going to be beneficial for both the companies and also going to change the entire landscape, help us evolve into the future. What we have witnessed in the COVID scenario, this deal is only going to accelerate that even in the post COVID scenario. Digital is here to stay and people realise its power now. With Jio, Facebook can now go deeper and engage with smaller towns and cities. It has a tremendous penetration but through all of its products and backing on Jio's plans on becoming a huge player in the market, I think the possibilities are endless. The future holds some great innovations in business that can be brought forward by this combination. I also think that this will help Facebook come into the payment thing in a much bigger way than through WhatsApp alone, so I do believe that this is a game changer for the industry. Understand that pretty much hundred percent of Jio customers come in after their Aadhar cards have been verified. Imagine that data now also synching up with Facebook data. So the opportunities are tremendous, from an advertisers perspective, reach, consumer and SME perspective. Sabyasachi Mitter, Founder and MD, Fulcro: On the face of it, the close to 10% stake purchased by Facebook in Jio Platforms is a bold move to get into retail e-commerce through Jio Mart. This will help both players in taking the challenge to the entrenched players like Amazon and Flipkart, especially in grocery retail by tapping into the reach of Jio and co-opting the local kirana stores. On paper taking orders and payments through WhatsApp is a game changer, however, we have to bear in mind that the Indian consumer behaves very differently from theory. For starters most kirana stores and small businesses already extensively use WhatsApp for order taking. The use of UPI and Paytm has become widespread and second nature. While people trust WhatsApp for communication and conversations where security is not much of a concern, whether they will trust WhatsApp payments over specialised payment solutions is something that time will tell. <keyword id="3054169" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Varun-Duggirala">Varun Duggirala</keyword>, Co-founder &amp; Content Chief, The Glitch: The FB-Jio deal is what one would call the coming together of two data super powers. While the implications for both companies to extend their reach and grow their data set is immense along with the possible e-payments and e-commerce implications it can drive (mainly through WhatsApp but through other social platforms that FB owns as well) what remains to be seen is the net neutrality implications this can have and where that balance will lie. But all in all, it’s definitely going to drive major competitive advantages for both parties. Ambika Sharma, Founder &amp; MD, Pulp Strategy: The Facebook investment in Reliance Jio making it the largest minority shareholder in Jio and values the platform at an enterprise value of Rs 4.62 lakh crore. It is the largest FDI in the technology sector in India and with this, the deal values Jio Platforms among the top 5 listed Companies in India by market capitalization. Apart from this, there is a commercial partnership, which has been signed between Jio, Reliance Retail and WhatsApp for Reliance’s new e-commerce platform called Jio Mart, which will be targeting seamless Kirana transactions with Jio Mart using WhatsApp. Jio now eyes 60 million Small Businesses across the country, which are the fabric of the unorganized retail economy. The aim is to grow and transform India’s digital ecosystem and the focus of the collaboration will be to enable new opportunities for more than 60 million Small Business owners across India. With communities around the world in a lock down, many of these entrepreneurs need Digital Tools, which they can use to find and communicate with customers to grow their business. Whatsapp Payments is in the middle of a beta trial for a million users and we are hoping to get regulatory approval, but this collaboration (with Jio Platforms) is meant to really fuel the small business side of the economy. As the Economy is in crisis the deal comes as a fresh air to the market and RIL stocks today closed at 10% gains. This deal will be a win-win deal for both the partners and the deal will play a meaningful role in mobile commerce space. With Facebook as a shareholder, Jio will be in a full-fledged battle with multiple internet-based businesses. This partnership will own a large chunk of hyper-local, e-commerce, payments, telco provider and advertising ecosystem. It will also provide a platform for both companies to tap growth opportunities in India, which ranks among the fastest growing economies and has the second highest number of internet users in the world. India is the next best thing, especially now that Mukesh Ambani has made it accessible by forcing down data charges and offering low-priced handsets and services in all Indian languages. Roopak Saluja Founder &amp; Chairman, The 120 Media Collective: "This is an ultra-synergistic power play, the likes of which can be orchestrated by very few. For Facebook, this will likely spell the end of any further major regulatory hurdles; few factors can match up to a Reliance partnership when it comes to increasing the ease of doing business in India. And Reliance gets to pare down its burgeoning debt to some degree. You can expect them to make a gateway play together. Get ready for the wechatification of WhatsApp in India- a super app for everything from delivery to payments to content and much much more. If you thought Jio was a game-changer for digital penetration, watch this space for more." <keyword id="4574743" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Shrenik-Gandhi">Shrenik Gandhi</keyword>, Chief Executive Officer and Co-Founder, White Rivers Media: Glad to be seeing such positive news in such grim times. This investment not only has monetary benefits for both organisations, but has economic benefit for the nation. This deal will empower digital transformation of millions which shall boost not only digital ecosystem but also the nation. The next 100M internet users will be easier to get on board, thanks to this deal. I am pretty sure, in the post-COVID world, the world will be closely watching India!

What does Facebook’s $5.7 billion investment in Reliance Jio mean for the digital industry?

<ul><li>Facebook top advertisers have been pulling money away and the company is hoping that Jio and Novi will come to its rescue. </li><li>The job openings at the social network have dipped by 50% over the last six months, but Facebook continues to hire at senior level positions within its financial services. </li><li>GlobalData analysts believe this because Facebook is looking to strengthen its advertising platform to ensure revenue going forward. </li></ul>The Facebook boycott came to an end and barely managed to register on the social networking behemoth’s balance sheet. However, Facebook has its eye on the ball and is betting on its recent investment in <keyword id="3820" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Mukesh-Ambani">Mukesh Ambani</keyword>’s Reliance and digital wallet Novi — formerly known as Calibri — to continue bringing in ad revenue. The number of job openings at Facebook that used to pop up were down by nearly 50% at the end of July. GlobalData job analytics database estimates that there were about 1,102 job postings in January but only 551 in July. Even though the overall number of jobs at Facebook dipped, prominent openings were spotted for senior-level positions at the company within payments, e-commerce and advertising. “Though it has not yet had a big impact on the company's earnings, Facebook seems to be concerned that more companies will join the bandwagon, prompting the social media giant to hire senior personnel in the advertising space,” Autojyoti Bose, the lead analyst at GlobalData said in a statement. Facebook job openings at senior level positions Facebook investment in Jio Platforms is in conjunction with JioMart — an online grocery delivery platform. The deal is seen as a strategic move by Facebook to roll-out its payments platform, WhatsApp Pay, in India where other players have already established themselves like Google, Paytm, and PhonePe. In May, Facebook rebranded Calibra to Novi to distance itself from the bad press around its cryptocurrency project. While Libra will continue to operate independently from the company, Novi is purely a Facebook project. The plan is for Novi’s first product to be a cryptocurrency wallet. While one doesn’t need a Facebook or WhatsApp account in order to sign up for the digital wallet, it will be directly accessible from either app. In addition to Novi and Jio, Facebook Financial is a new division that was created to add payments and financial services to the company’s existing line of products. Researchers at GlobalData believe the underlying reason is the drive commerce and advertising bottom line — bring in more money. Here are some of the positions that Facebook was seen hiring for over the last three months: <table style="border-width: initial; border-style: none; width: 468pt; table-layout: fixed;"></colgroup><tbody><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Post </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Company </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;"><a href="https://www.linkedin.com/jobs/view/public-policy-director-novi-at-facebook-1967971811/">Public policy director</a> </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Novi </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;"><a href="https://www.linkedin.com/jobs/view/treasury-director-calibra-at-facebook-1832530539">Treasury director</a> </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Calibra </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;"><a href="https://www.linkedin.com/jobs/view/director-business-development-calibra-financial-services-at-calibra-1861218098">Director of business development</a> </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Calibra financial services </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;"><a href="https://www.facebook.com/careers/jobs/914933279022178/">Director of WhatsApp payments in India</a> </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">WhatsApp </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;"><a href="https://www.facebook.com/careers/jobs/745569989344909/">Product marketing director of payments and commerce in the US</a> </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Facebook </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;"><a href="https://www.facebook.com/careers/jobs/810262572713932/">Product marketing lead direct of e-commerce marketplace in the US</a> </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Facebook </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;"><a href="https://sg.linkedin.com/jobs/view/director-of-payment-partnerships-apac-at-facebook-1801485586">Director of payment partnership for the APAC region</a> </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Facebook </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;"><a href="https://www.glassdoor.com/job-listing/revenue-accounting-director-ads-facebook-JV_IC1147371_KO0,31_KE32,40.htm?jl=3580098354">Revenue account director of ads in the US</a> </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Facebook </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;"><a href="https://www.linkedin.com/jobs/view/data-engineering-manager-analytics-ads-business-platform-at-facebook-1855914307">Data engineering direct for ads</a> </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Facebook </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;"><a href="https://www.linkedin.com/jobs/view/product-management-lead-business-opportunities-at-facebook-1505199517/">Director of advertising onboarding programs and small business group</a> </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Facebook </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;"><a href="https://www.linkedin.com/jobs/view/1993138244/?eBP=NotAvailableFromVoyagerAPI&amp;recommendedFlavor=IN_NETWORK&amp;refId=4d53b561-3629-486d-8fbc-5813b92f871b&amp;trk=flagship3_search_srp_jobs">Product Growth Manager - India</a> </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Facebook </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;"><a href="https://www.linkedin.com/jobs/view/1975370693/?eBP=JOB_SEARCH_ORGANIC&amp;recommendedFlavor=SCHOOL_RECRUIT&amp;refId=4d53b561-3629-486d-8fbc-5813b92f871b&amp;trk=flagship3_search_srp_jobs">Small Businesses (SMB) Research Manager</a> </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Instagram </td></tr></tbody></table> The boycott, called #StopHateForProfit, led to over 1,000 companies pulling their millions from Facebook. Of the social network’s top 20 advertisers, five are keeping their money away. This includes Microsoft, Unilever, Diageo, Coca-Cola and CVS. In 2019, these companies combined spent a total of $237.4 million on ads on Facebook, according to data by Pathmatics. SEE ALSO: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/apps/news/the-heat-is-on-mark-zuckerberg-in-india-as-facebook-and-whatsapp-incur-the-ire-of-modis-rivals/articleshow/77575358.cms">The heat is on Mark Zuckerberg in India as Facebook and WhatsApp incur the ire of Modi's rivals</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/startups/news/its-not-just-tiktok-its-clone-apps-in-india-too-have-a-beeline-of-investors/articleshow/77606019.cms">It's not just TikTok, its clone apps in India too have a beeline of investors</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/careers/news/it-and-media-employees-are-in-no-hurry-to-get-back-to-office-not-until-there-are-proper-policies-in-place/articleshow/77486082.cms">IT and media employees are in no hurry to get back to office — not until there are proper policies in place</a>

Facebook is hiring senior execs for its digital wallet Novi and its partnership with Jio

San Francisco, June 15 (IANS) As WhatsApp Payments remain stuck in India, Facebook CEO mark Zuckerberg on Monday announced to launch digital payments for people using WhatsApp in Brazil, where the users would be able to send and receive money to family and friends and make purchases. The Brazil launch comes ahead of India where the company began testing payments feature way back in 2018 but could not launch the feature for over 400 million users owing to regulatory roadblocks and data compliance issues. "We're making sending and receiving money as easy as sharing photos. We're also enabling small businesses to make sales right within WhatsApp," Zuckerberg said in a post. "To do this, we're building on Facebook Pay, which provides a secure and consistent way to make payments across our apps. We're working with local banks, including Banco do Brasil, Nubank, Sicredi as well as Cielo, the leading payments processor for merchants in Brazil," he informed. Brazil is the first country where we're widely rolling out payments in WhatsApp. With the addition of Visa's trusted payment technology, WhatsApp users will now be able to swiftly and securely send and receive money to family and friends, and to make purchases from small businesses on the popular global messaging service. Payments on WhatsApp are made possible by tapping into the capabilities of Visa Direct, Visa's real-time1 push payments technology, and Visa Cloud Tokenization, Visa's new cutting-edge security capability that launches today in conjunction with payments on WhatsApp. Sending money or making a purchase on WhatsApp is free for people. Businesses will pay a processing fee to receive customer payments, similar to what they may already pay when accepting a credit card transaction. Zuckerberg said earlier this year that the peer-to-peer, UPI-based payments feature will be rolled out in several countries in the next six months. "We got approval to test this with one million people in India back in 2018. And when so many of the people kept using it week after week, we knew it was going to be big when we get to launch," Zuckerberg said in January. "I'm really excited about this, and I expect this to start rolling out in a number of countries and for us to make a lot of progress here in the next six months," he added. Beginning Monday, select Brazilian WhatsApp users will gradually start seeing the payment option on the app, where they can set up an account by adding their Visa card to start sending and receiving money. For small businesses to be able to receive payments from customers, they simply need to create a WhatsApp Business app account. "Using our technology to open up avenues like WhatsApp for more people to shop and pay each other digitally is an incredibly powerful proposition that we're excited to bring to life," said Jack Forestell, Chief Product Officer, Visa. "We are very excited to bring payments on WhatsApp to our users across Brazil. Making it easier to send and receive money could not be more important than at a time like this," said Matt Idema, WhatsApp's Chief Operating Officer. "Small businesses are the backbone of the country. The ability to easily make sales right within WhatsApp will help business owners adapt to the digital economy, support growth, and financial recovery," Idema added. --IANS na/

Stuck in India, WhatsApp launches digital payments first in Brazil

New Delhi, Apr 23 () Facebook Inc's USD 5.7 billion investment in Jio Platforms, subsidiary of Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL), will help to monetise the digital platforms of both companies and aid in deleveraging of RIL's balance sheet, Fitch Ratings said on Thursday. Facebook's investment for a 9.99 per cent stake in Jio Platforms is the single-largest FDI in the Indian telecoms and technology sector. Reliance Jio, the wireless market leader with around 390 million subscribers, is a subsidiary of Jio Platforms. At the same time, Reliance Retail, RIL's retail arm, has also partnered with Facebook's WhatsApp to allow RIL's e-commerce business users to use the WhatsApp platform. Fitch said it had in August last year revised the outlook on RIL's 'BBB' rating to 'positive' and may upgrade to 'BBB+' if "net adjusted debt/EBITDA ratio improves to below 1.5x on a sustained basis". "The deal is part of RIL's plan to strengthen its businesses and to achieve a net cash position - through partnerships and supported by organic growth and lowcapex," Fitch said in a statement. "We expect the partnership with Facebook to bolster RIL's consumer business in the medium term." The rating agency said the proceeds from the transaction should help RIL maintain the pace of its deleveraging - counteracting the likely weakness in its refining and petrochemical segment during 2020-21. Fitch expects RIL's oil-to-chemical segment to face volume and margins headwinds due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic in line with the industry trend. "We expect the pandemic to weaken demand for refined products and petrochemicals in Asia-Pacific during 2020, with a gradual recovery through 2021 to pre-COVID-19 levels. However, RIL should be less affected than peers, due to the high complexity of its refineries and integrated petrochemical operations with feedstock flexibility," it said. The deal, it said, will allow both Facebook and Jio to monetise their digital platforms, engage customers online, and provide direct connectivity between users and merchants. Usage of digital platforms is likely to grow significantly in the medium-term amid severe disruptions caused by lockdowns and social distancing measures. Increasing reliance on digital platforms might also assist RIL in gaining market share in India's growing e-commerce segment, and soften the impact of lower footfalls in its physical retail stores. "Jiomart, which is a market-place platform and built in partnership with small merchants and 'kirana' (small neighbourhood retail store) shops, will allow users to buy goods and services using WhatsApp and Facebook Messenger. Jio Platforms will focus on introducing digital solutions for 60 million micro, small and medium businesses; 120 million farmers; 30 million merchants; and millions of SMEs in the informal sector," Fitch said. On its part, Facebook is likely to be able to expand its platforms - including Facebook Marketplace, Instagram Shopping and Facebook Pay - to help SMEs set up virtual shops on such platforms and sell goods and services. Facebook plans to roll out WhatsApp Payments in India and other countries this year, after having tested this with a million people in India in 2018. WhatsApp Platform, which has started charging businesses, is still offered free to retail users globally, it said. Facebook reported 641 million daily active users (DAU) in APAC in 4Q19, up by 14 per cent year-on-year and now contributing around 39 per cent of overall 1.7 million DAUs. India is the single-largest market with about 330 million monthly users, and also one of the fastest-growing markets for Facebook. WhatsApp's messaging app also has the largest user base in India, with about 400 million users. "We believe internet users in the country will rise to at least 800 million by 2022, up from around 600 million in 2019 as India overtook the US to become the world's second-largest smartphone market after China by unit shipments in 2019. DAUs represented around 66 per cent of 2.5 billion monthly active users in December 2019," Fitch added. ANZ DRRDRR

Facebook deal to help Reliance monetise platforms, deleverage: Fitch

<ul><li>Facebook acquired a 9.9% stake in Reliance <keyword id="2003276" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Jio">Jio</keyword> for ₹43,574 crore, valuing the 3-year old telecom company at ₹4.4 lakh crore.</li><li>At this valuation, Reliance Jio is bigger than many other bluechip companies like HDFC, Infosys, ITC and even SBI, India’s largest bank.</li><li>In the telecom sector, Reliance Jio’s valuation towers over its competitors Airtel, Vodafone Idea and Tata Communications.</li></ul>In the last three years, Reliance Jio disrupted the Indian telecom industry, to emerge as the top telco both in terms of revenue as well as market share. Jio which launched operations in late 2016, is now bigger than HDFC, Infosys, ITC and India’s largest bank - as valued by the Facebook deal. Earlier today, Facebook <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/news/facebook-picks-up-10-stake-in-jio-platform-for-rs-43574-cr/articleshow/75283937.cms">paid $5.7 billion</a> (₹43,574 crore) for a 9.9% stake in Jio, valuing it at ₹4,40,141 crore. This puts the value of Reliance Jio at 52% of its parent company, Reliance Industries as per today’s market capitalisation. But that’s not all. At its current valuation of ₹4.4 lakh crore, Jio, a three-year old company, is now bigger than many old blue-chip giants like HDFC, Infosys and ITC. In fact, it is more than 2.5 times bigger than State Bank of India, the largest bank in the country. <div type="image" title="Reliance Jio market cap" msid="75290078" hostid="261"></div> Is Jio’s valuation high? At its current valuation of ₹4.4 lakh crore, Jio would be the fifth largest company by market capitalization on the BSE Sensex. The reason, it would seem, is that Mark Zuckerberg <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/news/heres-why-facebooks-mark-zuckerberg-is-paying-top-dollar-for-a-stake-in-mukesh-ambanis-reliance-jio/articleshow/75286331.cms">paid a premium</a> for his 9.9% stake in Jio. Deven Choksey, the managing director of KR Choksey Shares &amp; Securities told Business Insider, a day before the deal was sealed, that he valued Jio at ₹550 rupees a share. This was when RIL shares were trading at around ₹1200 apiece. Based on a market cap ₹7.8 lakh crore, Jio would be worth ₹3.4 lakh crore as per Deven's estimate. In comparison, at ₹4.4 lakh crore, Zuckerberg has paid 33% more than Choksey’s valuation. The subsequent rally in RIL’s shares proves it to some extent, after it <a href="http://businessinsider.in/india/news/mukesh-ambanis-reliance-industries-stock-gets-a-50000-crore-facebook-boost/articleshow/75285485.cms">jumped by more than 9%</a> to trade above ₹1,300 for the first time since the lockdown was announced. This is why Zuckerberg is paying a premium for Jio There could be a couple of reasons for Zuckerberg paying a premium for Jio. Firstly, Zuckerberg’s company has struggled to get WhatsApp Pay off the ground for the last three years in India. This could not happen, in part due to privacy concerns and in part due to <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/whatsapp-payments-launching-in-india-against-paytm-google-pay-phone-pe-for-1-trillion-opporunity/articleshow/70376672.cms">complaints by local payment operators</a>. Secondly, the deal with Reliance gives Facebook the access it needs, and that could go a long way. “With communities around the world in a lockdown, many of these entrepreneurs need digital tools they can use to find and communicate with customers to grow their business,” Zuckerberg said in a post today. What does this mean for Airtel? <div type="image" title="Jio market cap telecom companies" msid="75290141" hostid="261"></div> Airtel’s current market cap is at ₹2.75 lakh crore, which is a little over 60% of Jio’s valuation. It needs to be mentioned that Airtel too clinched a similar partnership with Google earlier this year. As per their January <a href="https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/small-biz/sme-sector/airtel-and-google-cloud-partner-to-boost-collaboration-digital-transformation/articleshow/73427538.cms">announcement</a>, the partnership will bring small and medium businesses (SMB) online using G Suite. This could be in response to the <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/reliance-jio-fired-up-as-mukesh-ambani-joins-hands-with-satya-nadellas-microsoft-to-challenge-jeff-bezos-in-india/articleshow/70641754.cms">Jio-Microsoft partnership</a> which promised to bring Office 365 and other tools to medium and small enterprises (MSME). While Jio has Microsoft and Facebook on its side, Airtel has Google. These partnerships also mirror a global level partnership since Microsoft and Facebook have teamed up for years across projects. See also: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/whatsapp-payments-launching-in-india-against-paytm-google-pay-phone-pe-for-1-trillion-opporunity/articleshow/70376672.cms">WhatsApp Payments battling Paytm, Google Pay and PhonePe for India's $1 trillion opportunity by end of year</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/news/heres-why-facebooks-mark-zuckerberg-is-paying-top-dollar-for-a-stake-in-mukesh-ambanis-reliance-jio/articleshow/75286331.cms">Here's why Facebook's Mark Zuckerberg is paying top dollar for a stake in Mukesh Ambani's Reliance Jio</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/news/facebook-picks-up-10-stake-in-jio-platform-for-rs-43574-cr/articleshow/75283937.cms">Mark Zuckerberg's Facebook picks up 9.9% stake in Mukesh Ambani's Jio for $5.7 billion</a>

Jio, a 3-year old telecom company, is now bigger than HDFC, Infosys and ITC – and India's largest bank

<ul><li>The messaging platform, <keyword id="790242" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="WhatsApp">WhatsApp</keyword>, has just announced that it will be building a system that will store the <keyword id="6418677" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="payments-data">payments data</keyword> of Indian users locally.</li><li>This announcement comes at a time when most foreign companies are asking for an extension and relaxation of the regulations. </li><li>While the deadline for payments data is 15 October, the <keyword id="2617070" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Personal-Data-Protection-Bill">Personal Data Protection Bill</keyword> draft expands the scope to include all data from Indian users once implemented.</li></ul>After continuous pressure from the <keyword id="3658" type="LOCATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="India">India</keyword>n government as well as India’s nodal banking agency, the <keyword id="6354335" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="reserve-bank-of-india">Reserve Bank of India</keyword> (RBI), Whatsapp has announced that it’s building a system that will <a href="https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/tech/internet/whatsapp-says-it-will-store-payments-data-locally-is-in-compliance-with-rbi/articleshow/66131312.cms" data-type="tilCustomLink" target="_blank" style="">store all payments related data locally.</a> While the messaging giant rolled out its payments feature earlier this year, a full-fledged out option hasn’t been possible because of pending approvals from the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) and the RBI. Currently, there are around 1 million people testing the feature according to the company’s spokesperson. The deadline given to all foreign companies with payments apps in India to ensure <keyword id="6441632" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Data-localisation">data localisation</keyword> is 15 October, as per the RBI. The central bank’s directive states that it’s important to have, “unfettered supervisory access to data stored with these system providers”. The bank also specified that the data collected must include all the details of any monetary transaction including the information that was processed as part of the payment instruction. Another one bites the dust Last month, <keyword id="6355629" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="google">Google</keyword> gave in to the demands of the Indian government by agreeing to store Indian users payments-related data within the country. WhatsApp’s announcement of complying with India’s data localisation requests comes when most foreign companies are bidding for more time to put their systems in place as well relaxations on the stringent regulation put forward by the RBI. The draft of the Personal Data Protection Bill also propagates that any data relating to Indian users should be stored locally. This has brought on a number of petitions to the government from foreign firms and associations relaying their concerns about the cost of implementing something like this. According to them, not only will this affect their bottom line, but restricting the free flow of data would take away their ability to bolster India’s digital economy. WhatsApp Payments is only one obstacle that WhatsApp has to overcome. The lingering issue of misinformation being spammed on the messaging service, determining accountability for the string of lynchings that followed and the appointment of a local grievance officer are still issues it has to deal with.

WhatsApp gives in to India’s data localisation policy

<ul><li><keyword id="3820" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Mukesh-Ambani">Mukesh Ambani</keyword>’s <keyword id="2003276" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Jio">Jio</keyword> has partnered with <keyword id="6354576" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="facebook">Facebook</keyword> which many think is a bid to build the next <keyword id="3848715" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Super-app">super app</keyword> for India.</li><li>Historically, super app experiments in the country have not been sustainable.</li><li>Currently, it’s not known whether Jio or WhatsApp will be the new super app — or if it will be a new independent super app altogether.</li><li>Payments may be oil for e-commerce, but a lot of these uncertainties and questions will only be answered in the weeks and months to follow.</li></ul>In a bid to be India’s Alibaba, the country’s richest man Mukesh Ambani is attempting something where others have failed — building a super app. The <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/news/heres-why-facebooks-mark-zuckerberg-is-paying-top-dollar-for-a-stake-in-mukesh-ambanis-reliance-jio/articleshow/75286331.cms">$5.7 billion deal with Facebook</a> is another step by <keyword id="6354504" type="DEFINITION" weightage="20" keywordseo="reliance-jio">Reliance Jio</keyword> towards a super app — an idea that hasn’t worked in India so far. Even if it takes off this time, there will be other uncomfortable questions for Ambani as well as his new friend <keyword id="6354630" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="mark-zuckerberg">Mark Zuckerberg</keyword> who is looking to capture a big chunk of the millions of Indians who are yet to use the internet. <div type="image" title="pjote grid (6)" msid="75343777" hostid="261" caption="&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;A WhatsApp super app, a Jio super app, or a third new super app altogether — nobody really knows. The bigger question is why attempt building a super app in a country where, historically, super apps haven&amp;#39;t worked out.&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;"></div> The Mittal experience Facebook and Reliance are not the first to try out the super app in India. Hike, an eight-year-old startup with 2 million weekly active users as of December 2019, had to pivot away from the super app idea after working on it for six years. “Do consumers want a super app on a super app is the question that we asked and in 2017, we concluded that was not going to be the future,” said <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/apps/news/exclusive-kavin-mittal-says-hike-will-look-to-make-money-this-year-heres-how/articleshow/73924944.cms">Kavin Mittal</a>, the founder and CEO of Hike, told Business Insider during an interview in February. <div type="Article" hostid="261" msid="73924944" title="Exclusive: Kavin Mittal says Hike will look to make money this year —here's how" mstype="2" mssubtype="0"></div> “Given that India is not like China — in that it’s open to competition from the world — building a super app wasn’t the way to go forward. In a market with very cheap 4G and good smartphones, the smartphone becomes the super app,” Mittal went on to explain. However, Mittal didn’t have the wide array of businesses that could leverage each other or the deep pockets like Ambani does. The difference in context for Ambani Reliance Jio is just one of the many businesses that Ambani owns — refining, petrochemicals, and retail being the other major segments ⁠— and he wants the super app to complement his vast network of <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/ecommerce/news/from-reliance-jiomart-to-unicorns-and-other-startups-all-line-up-to-serve-kiranas-indias-mom-n-pop-stores/articleshow/75324026.cms">10,901 retail stores and sourcing prowess</a> to beat his primary competitors Amazon, Walmart-owned Flipkart and Future Retail. <div type="Article" hostid="261" msid="75290132" title="Jio, a 3-year old telecom company, is now bigger than HDFC, Infosys and ITC – and India's largest bank" mstype="2" mssubtype="0"></div> Further, Ambani who has been touting the phrase ‘data is the new oil’ for a few years now wants access to as much information on his users as possible. In the process, Jio, which was born as a mobile service provider just 3 years ago, has quickly added everything from movies to music to the upcoming services like e-commerce, and even <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/reliance-jio-fired-up-as-mukesh-ambani-joins-hands-with-satya-nadellas-microsoft-to-challenge-jeff-bezos-in-india/articleshow/70641754.cms">virtual reality (VR) shopping.</a> Now, Ambani wants to bring 30 million small shops and business owners onto his new commerce platform, JioMart, in the next one year. Facebook brings the missing piece of the puzzle — WhatsApp, India’s most-used messaging service, and a motherload of user data from its 400 million monthly active users (MAUs) in India. “Not many telecoms in the world have this kind of ecosystem control — right from content to music to movies as well as having all the different apps within that ecosystem. What was missing was the commerce piece of it,” Tarun Pathak, an associate director at research analytics firm Counterpoint, told Business Insider. Both Zuckerberg and Ambani have another common grouse too. Their respective e-payments service, Jio money and WhatsApp payments, have not taken off in a big way so far. And as Akhil Handa, head of fintech at Bank of Baroda, told Business Insider, “Payments is oil for e-commerce.” <div type="javascript" title="Custom" contenttype="Video"><cdata><![CDATA[]]></cdata></div> “In my mind, WhatsApp Pay and Jio Money will all hopefully get rolled into one,” Vikram Sud, an independent director at DBS told <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/news/whatsapp-is-the-secret-sauce-in-the-deal-between-facebook-and-reliance-jio/articleshow/75296172.cms">Business Insider.</a> Together, they will have the muscle to disrupt a crowded payments market both in terms of money and a mammoth data bank to market itself optimally. <table style="border-width: initial; border-style: none; width: 468pt; table-layout: fixed;"></colgroup><tbody><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Platform </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Users </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">WhatsApp </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">400 million MAU* </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Facebook </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">250 million MAU </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Jio </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">366 million subscribers </td></tr></tbody></table>*MAU: Monthly active users Size matters but not always Pathak believes that the success of the super app will depend on whether it can prove to be ‘sticky’ enough for users to stay. “In India, it’s about value for money. If I’m getting a good deal on a particular platform, it’s not going to matter whether I’m hooked to a particular super app or not,” explained Pathak. On the other hand, <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/vibar/?originalSubdomain=sg">Vibhu Arya</a>, the head partnerships &amp; big deals in South East Asia for Tencent-backed iPaylinks. predicts that the success of an app like this is pretty low. “A super app tied to a parent like Jio Telco and Reliance Retail defeats the very purpose of a super app ushering in conflict of interest for other sellers,” Arya told Business Insider. Right now, there isn’t clarity around the Reliance-Facebook concept of a super app. The world doesn’t know if it’s going to be on WhatsApp, if it’s going to be on Jio, or will it be an entirely new independent super app co-owned by both. “If WhatsApp becomes the super app and Reliance is only one of the many sellers, there’s no conflict. In an ideal scenario, if WhatsApp needs to build a super app — there is no advantage that Reliance brings to it,” Arya explained. Citing the example of WeChat, he said that anyone can set up a store on the platform — from a mom making pastries to international giants like Louis Vuitton. Consumers are chatting — they can build a relationship with a brand or a seller. Then they use payments within the app to complete the transaction. It’s essentially an operating system on a smartphone and customers don’t have any other options. A lot of these uncertainties and questions will only be answered in the weeks and months to follow. See also: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/news/heres-why-facebooks-mark-zuckerberg-is-paying-top-dollar-for-a-stake-in-mukesh-ambanis-reliance-jio/articleshow/75286331.cms">Here's why Facebook's Mark Zuckerberg is paying top dollar for a stake in Mukesh Ambani's Reliance Jio</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/news/whatsapp-is-the-secret-sauce-in-the-deal-between-facebook-and-reliance-jio/articleshow/75296172.cms">WhatsApp is the secret sauce in the deal between Facebook and Reliance Jio</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/startups/news/reliance-and-facebook-all-set-to-innovate-together-for-a-post-corona-world-their-startup-acquisitions-certainly-say-so/articleshow/75290353.cms">The Indian startups backed by Reliance Industries and Facebook have a lot in common</a>

To be India’s Alibaba, Mukesh Ambani wants a super app with Facebook⁠— but an all-in-one app is not known to work so far

<ul><li>The world was waiting to see two of the planet's richest men speak to each other and while they delivered some headlines, there was little chemistry to show.</li><li>Despite the multi-million dollar deal between the two companies, <keyword id="10437346" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="zuckerberg-and-ambani">Zuckerberg and Ambani</keyword> were asking each other questions that should have ideally been answered before their partnership. </li><li>Here are the highlights of the 40-minute conversation between two of the richest men in the world.</li></ul>Two of the richest men in the world, <keyword id="624769" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Facebook-CEO-Mark-Zuckerberg">Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg</keyword> and <keyword id="705208" type="POSITION" weightage="20" keywordseo="Reliance-Industries-Chairman">Reliance Industries chairman</keyword> <keyword id="3820" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Mukesh-Ambani">Mukesh Ambani</keyword>, agree on one thing. If the pandemic had hit even five years earlier, India would not have been ready. However, the headlines were few and far between. Their individual dispositions were exemplified by the lack of chemistry between the two of them during the last session of Facebook's <a href="https://www.facebook.com/watch/live/?v=1851422635011183&amp;ref=watch_permalink">Fuel for India 2020</a> conference. In fact, it seemed like the two of them didn’t know each other as well as business partners should, considering the massive amount of money <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/news/mukesh-ambani-gave-google-and-facebook-a-discount-on-reliance-jio-stake-heres-why/articleshow/77032126.cms">Facebook has invested in Jio.</a> Both Ambani and Zuckerberg praised each other and asked questions that, one would suppose, would have been addressed before the investment was made. The chat between <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/corporates/news/microsoft-top-boss-satya-nadellas-conversation-with-mukesh-ambani-asias-richest-man/articleshow/74278962.cms">Microsoft chief Satya Nadella and Ambani</a> was a bit more free-flowing than this one. But that was also before the pandemic and they were sitting next to each other. <div type="image" title="ambani_nadella_edited" msid="79740206" hostid="261" caption="&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;Mukesh Ambani and Microsoft CEO Sataya Nadella in February 2020&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;"></div> Zuckerberg and Ambani may have been inconvenienced by the fact that it was a video call. But, one can't be reprimanded for expecting the ‘architect of the digital network of the world’ (how Ambani described Zuckerberg) and the man turning India into a digital society to be a bit more comfortable with technology given their shared vision of a hi-tech future. The entire transcript of their conversation, which lasted over 40 minutes, was around 11 pages long. We, at Business Insider India, have shrunk the tete-a-tete down to the most important things that you need to know. Here are some of the highlights from the conversation between Ambani and Zuckerberg on December 15: Zuckerberg: [..] So I'm curious from your perspective how is India doing right now? When you expect things are going to return to normal? And, I know that Reliance has taken a number of big steps to help the community in the country. It's been a big year for you. I'm curious to hear how your company adapted to help you move forward in the midst of this pandemic. Ambani: [Ambani spoke a lot about what the government, the Reliance Foundation and his teams had contributed to the COVID relief efforts before answering how he sees the current situation in India.] Mark, sometimes I wonder that if the pandemic had struck India just four or five years earlier, we would have not been in as good a shape as what we are today. With all the connectivity we have, and the credit for that must go to our Prime Minister's Digital India vision, where he motivated the entire industry to roll out broadband in the first five years of his first term. And, during the pandemic. India has attracted the largest foreign direct investment in its history, Mark. We have our own example of how Jio and Facebook concluded our partnership. Right in the middle of lockdown. [..] And, I believe, Mark, that our actions will speak louder than our words in the coming months and years time here. Zuckerberg: One of the big opportunities that I see with this partnership, Facebook and Jio partnership, is the role that we can play together in supporting the millions of small businesses in India especially now with the impact that COVID is having accelerating the move that a lot of businesses have from physical storefronts to digital ones and in this digital future. So, I'm curious — what role do you see technology, playing in this post COVID world? Especially as it relates to all of these small businesses that I know you share a passion with me that is just critical that we serve them. Ambani: Absolutely, Mark. And, let me point out a very unique feature about our partnership. Perhaps, not many people have understood this, but before this partnership I believe that each one of us was mainly a communication platform. Together, we now have become a value creation platform for our customers and small businesses. And, I firmly believe that technology with all the digitization steps that India has taken will democratize wealth and value creation for individuals and small businesses. And, let me explain this very simply, Whatsapp has hundreds of millions of subscribers in India Jio has hundreds of millions of subscribers in India. Jio Mart, which is our retail service, actually has the aspiration of serving tens of millions of small shopkeepers in India, who are the bedrock of employment. So, what does this mean? This means Jio brings digital connectivity. WhatsApp, now with WhatsApp brings digital interactivity and the ability to move to close transactions and create value. And, Jio Mart brings the unmatched online and offline retail opportunity that gives our small shops, which exist in villages and small towns in India, a chance to digitize and be at par with anybody else in the world. [...] Zuckerberg: I'm curious as you look ahead to the future in India — what other technologies or developments are you excited about now? Where do you see the country in the next five to 10 years? Ambani: Well, as I mentioned to you, Mark. I really see India accelerating as a premier digital society. I see us integrating 5G. [...] We also think that compute, and very low latency compute is real.I think that there is a great opportunity for really bringing education and healthcare with the second generation reforms that were done in the last six months, right. [...] And, I think that in a span of 10 years, we can set for ourselves an objective to really reskill India and the talent that you talked about can improve 10x. Today, you're just seeing the creamy layer. But, that's what technology can do to really make a better India in a better world. The same thing we can do in health, and all the emerging technology and integrations where we can make sure that we deliver services and we deliver good proactive healthcare. [..] And, that is why I think that the next two decades are going to be historic in terms of the social and economic transformation. Zuckerberg: It always blows me away that India has more than 60 million small businesses and millions of people around the country rely on them for jobs. That's a big part of what I hope that our partnership can serve here. We support more than 50 million WhatsApp business app users globally every month already and more than 15 million of these are in India. As you said, now, I can’t imagine going through the pandemic 10 years ago or even two decades ago when the internet was still nascent. It would have been a completely different experience. And, technology, of course, is allowing us to make sure that we can get accurate information out to people that has implications on health, education and helping serve people better. I think it shows a lot of the promise for what's ahead and I think we've certainly fared better now than we would have if the pandemic hit us before. Ambani: I couldn't agree more, Mark. [...] I call you the ‘architect of the digital network of the world’. While I have built some connectivity and broadband connectivity in India, you've done that for the world.Please share with us your experience of as the digital architect of the world, how your global Facebook experience has helped people in this crisis and your perspective of the crisis and where you see the world today and where it is going? Zuckerberg: [...] We just launched WhatsApp payments in India last month. So you can send money to your friends and family through WhatsApp as easily as sending a message and that was possible because of the UPI system that has been built in via unified payments interface so it makes it easy for anyone to instantly accept payments across different apps. I think we're working with 140 banks, or it's supported by 140 banks out of the gate. And, India's the first country in the world to do anything like this now. So we're grateful to be able to support this kind of innovation to help to work to create more prosperity and help achieve a more Digital India. In fact, I think that a lot of other places around the world are going to be better off when they follow some of this lead that India has set in creating public goods like this. [...] Ambani: I hope that the rest of the world learns from Indian policy, and what Facebook is able to achieve in India. We as Indians will be very proud if Facebook says we did it first in India, and then took it to 100 countries. I look forward to working with you on that. Mark, all of us would love to know your views on how the world is changing. And, what you and Facebook are thinking about. And what you see the future as. Just give us your perspective, Mark. Zuckerberg: [He spoke about how technology is empowering individuals, not just businesses and how it has been “incredibly democratising”.] We’re now on the next step with now great 4G and coming 5G networks. Video is really becoming the primary way that people share. Anyone can learn and capture something on their phones and then share it or stream it. Increasingly people are able to consume that. Video is just a lot richer of a medium than photos. Even when my daughters took their first steps, I wanted to capture a video of that and share it, not just a photo. But I don't think video is the end of the line. So, a lot of what I'm focused on is creating a helping screen virtual reality and augmented reality, so that way we can share not only the video of an experience, but you can use virtual reality to go into an experience and feel like you're right there. You can have holograms of digital objects that can kind of be as realistic as the physical objects that are there. Meaning in five or 10 years when we're having this conversation, it will just be a hologram version of me sitting on the couch next to you instead of having to do this over a screen. It'll feel a lot more realistic. A big part of why I was excited to partner with you is because there are not many people around the world, who've just gone industry after industry revolutionized them and improve them, and continue to do it and have that hunger to improve the lives of so many people so I just have a deep admiration for that. SEE ALSO: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/news/pornhub-adult-video-streaming-website-deletes-over-9-million-videos-to-remove-child-porn/articleshow/79732612.cms">Two in every three Pornhub videos are gone after a purge to remove child porn</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/finance/banks/news/hdfc-bank-ceo-aditya-puri-says-banks-must-change-every-3-4-years/articleshow/79734617.cms">"Banks must change every 3-4 years," says Aditya Puri, the recently retired chairman of HDFC Bank, dubbed as 'the world's best banker'</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/ecommerce/news/after-zomato-swiggy-scales-down-its-grocery-ambitions-leaving-the-market-open-for-jiomart-bigbasket-amazon-and-others/articleshow/79739364.cms">After Zomato, Swiggy scales down its grocery ambitions – leaving the market open for JioMart, BigBasket, Amazon and others</a>

Zuckerberg spoke to Ambani but there was no chemistry — even with a multi-million dollar partnership between them

<ul><li><keyword id="6354576" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="facebook">Facebook</keyword> has bought a 9.9% stake in <keyword id="6354504" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="reliance-jio">Reliance Jio</keyword> for $5.7 billion (Rs 43,574 crore). </li><li>The deal is expected to give Facebook a stronger foothold in India, which is seen as its largest market.</li><li><keyword id="3579446" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="arnab-mitra">Arnab Mitra</keyword>, Managing Director, <keyword id="3242601" type="LOCATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="Liqvd-Asia">Liqvd Asia</keyword> tries to decode the meaning of the deal and its future implications.</li></ul>Facebook on April 21, 2020, made its largest single investment by putting $ 5.7 billion into Jio Platforms of India, an enormous bet on the developing market and a sign of how large tech companies are forging ahead in the pandemic. A way ahead for the digital transformation of India in a post-COVID world. Dig a little deeper and you'll know that Facebook has not been making as much money in Asia as in other markets; it’s banned in China and its largest user base resides in India (260mn+). Therefore, it makes sense for the company to try and grow within the country and get a stronger hold in its root to get more revenue. And the company’s new partnership could change that for them. While both Facebook and Reliance Jio are trying to peg the initiative as entirely philanthropic, maybe as consumers, we will need to take the news with a little pinch of salt. All said and done, Rs 44,000 crore is a little too much of an investment by anybody to try to increase its ARPU, to match their revenues simply to any other advanced market with a lot less user base. Facebook has globally restructured and enabled various features across the platforms it owns, that shows the progression the company has in mind, keeping the users closed within its environment. <keyword id="790242" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="WhatsApp">WhatsApp</keyword> has worked for years to build tools for small businesses and has dabbled in payment systems, while Facebook has also invested in creating digital storefronts for entrepreneurs to sell goods and services online. Bringing JioMart, Jio’s small-business initiative, together with WhatsApp, Jio will enable people to connect with businesses, shops and ultimately purchase products in a seamless mobile experience. And the new, additional revenue front will probably help keep the shareholders in their homeland happy. But is that all there is to this? Does everything end here? Maybe not. If we dig further, we will know that this is not Facebook’s first foray into the Indian market. Several years ago, it tried to offer free internet connectivity to Indian users in a program called Free Basics. But that initiative hit several snags until it was banned in the country in 2016. A lot of activists voiced their protest along with millions of Indians signing the petition to push regulators to decide that companies could not offer free internet services that favoured some companies over others. Jio, with its feature phone, will also help Facebook influence rural India digitally. More recently, Facebook has also been at loggerheads with the Indian government over WhatsApp. The government has demanded that WhatsApp change its encryption to trace messages back to their source, which WhatsApp has refused to do. At the same time, regulators have repeatedly stalled WhatsApp’s request to offer a payments service to its Indian users. With Jio payments bank already live and backed by the country's largest bank, it’s an easy gateway for WhatsApp payment as a UPI for the bank, that’s the obvious next play for an organization fighting for permission for the longest time. But through this deal with Reliance Jio, Facebook will probably be probably be able to bypass those government directives easily and make this move an intra-company decision that doesn’t need government approvals as the undertone is still about helping millions of Indians shop better. What it smartly covers up is how this will make the government relax its regulations owing to its relationship with the Indian giant. Zuckerberg has advocated Data Portability forever, which means when you share data with one service, you should be able to move it to another. With a 260 million user base of its own clubbed with the WhatsApp, Instagram and Jio user base, what’s next to come with data portability is going to be unprecedented, unless it’s stopped with a strong Privacy Policy by the government. And we all know that our government is far from being capable to curve out policies keeping in mind future possibilities and real challenges. And all of this will hurt other online players across categories badly, making Reliance Jio the only formidable player standing tall in a market where nobody else is allowed to play anymore. And we all know what that does to consumers at the end of the day. They are not left with choices and finally have to bear the price of a monopolistic market. Pretty much like our current government situation and choice of PMO. We don’t really have another formidable opponent to challenge the current one and so we can’t even compare whether we need this one or there are some better options outside. Now that’s a mistake that has already happened. The question is, would you like to make the same mistake twice over? If the answer to that is no, then here are my suggestions for you – <ol><li>Slowly start identifying another chatting app like WhatsApp. Start moving some of your conversations there. Build WhatsApp redundancy in your own network and life. For example - How about Line? Do you know Indonesians and Singaporeans love it? Don’t wait for a day where you are charged to use WhatsApp on your Jio connection or watch the video first before responding to your family.</li><li>Don’t always give into convenience. I didn’t connect Google Pay to my gmail inbox, and I am surviving just fine. Google has a lot of information about me – my payments, purchases aren’t something it has any visibility on. So you do the same too. Let WhatsApp come up with a WhatsApp Pay – you continue to use your banking UPI or something else. Don’t let them join the dots.</li><li>Try not to buy your mobile phone and sim-card from the same company. Keep an alternate number from a competition TSP. Spend just the lowest billing amount. But keep them in the business by keeping your second number on.</li><li>Don’t believe in a philanthropic approach by anybody who takes your data as a return gift. Remember, data is the new fuel (and clearly more expensive) and as long as you have your data secured and protected, you are of some importance to the biggest of the companies. With data being collected across platforms from e-commerce (Ajio), your entertainment (Saavn &amp; Jio TV) to a simple chat with a friend, there will be nothing much left for you to guard.</li><li>Consumerism is here to stay. But one can’t say that about loyalty. Remember that not everybody deserves your loyalty and maybe your politician, chat apps and payment UPIs are some of the examples of the same.</li></ol>Facebook’s investment may help turn India’s battered telecom sector into a duopoly for now and if this continues, we’ll soon see a monopoly in favour of Reliance Jio. A recent Supreme Court decision ordering older carriers to pay billions of dollars in back taxes has left the industry in dire financial shape, and one of the three major carriers, Vodafone Idea, is teetering on the edge of insolvency. Now while that’s for the telecom space, Jio has ambitions to take on Amazon in e-commerce, run data-centres, provide fiber internet to homes and businesses and set up new services like DTH, tele-health and distance learning. Hence, the Facebook share purchase is much more than an initiative to help small businesses, it’s an invasion of all your digital footprint on the heavily used cross functional platforms owned by the two giants. But don’t you think that’s too much to give to one company and as a result, kill competition completely? I conclude this article with this question and a thought - “There is a difference in the way you feel the moment you stop calling your representatives 'Political Leaders'; Start calling them 'politicians' and immediately you will know that there is no reason for you to be loyal to any of them. Same with your TSP, Chat apps, social networks, UPIs – You use them, Do not let them use you. Or your data in this case. The moment you see two of them getting questionably close – have your senses fired up. Look for a new muse.” Stay safe. Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this column are those of the author. They do not purport to reflect the opinions or views of Advertising &amp; Media Insider.

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