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New Delhi, The <keyword id="2734036" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="halwa-ceremony">Halwa ceremony</keyword>, marking the final stage of the Budget making process, was held in North Block on Saturday afternoon in the presence of <keyword id="309842" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Union-Finance">Union Finance</keyword> and Corporate Affairs Minister <keyword id="129243" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Nirmala-Sitharaman">Nirmala Sitharaman</keyword>. A customary Halwa ceremony is performed every year before the "lock-in" process of the Budget preparations gets underway. This normally happens around middle of January when the exercise to finalise and print budget details starts in the basement of North Block. This year, as the budget is going paperless, the ceremony got delayed since the need for lock-in is not required. The <keyword id="6360189" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="union-budget">Union Budget</keyword> 2021-22 is to be presented on February 1. The Halwa is prepared in a large utensil in the presence of <keyword id="47209" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Finance-Ministry">Finance Ministry</keyword> officials, including ministers, and sharing the sweet dish is considered auspicious before starting any good work. Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, there was question mark over the ceremony this year. On the occasion, the Finance Ministry also launched the 'Union Budget Mobile App' for hassle-free access to Budget documents by the MPs and the general public using the simplest form of digital convenience. The app facilitates complete access to 14 Union Budget documents, including the Annual Financial Statement (commonly known as Budget), Demand for Grants (DG), Finance Bill etc. as prescribed by the Constitution. The Budget documents will be available on the app after the completion of the Budget speech by the Finance Minister on February 1. At the Halwa ceremony, Sitharaman was accompanied by Union Minister of State for Finance &amp; Corporate Affairs Anurag Singh Thakur; A.B. Pandey, Finance Secretary &amp; Secretary (Revenue); T.V. Somanathan, Secretary, Expenditure; Tarun Bajaj, Secretary, Economic Affairs; Tuhin Kanta Pandey, Secretary, DIPAM; Debashish Panda, Secretary, Financial Services; K.V. Subramanian, Chief Economic Advisor; Rajat Kumar Mishra, Additional Secretary (Budget) and other officials of the Finance Ministry. Later, Sitharaman reviewed the status of the compilation of the Union Budget 2021-22 and extended her best wishes to the officials concerned. SEE ALSO: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/policy/economy/news/recession-in-india-will-end-latest-by-march-says-a-top-economist/articleshow/80399198.cms">Recession in India will end latest by March, says a top economist</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/news/amazfit-smartwatch-gts-2-review-feature-rich-but-theres-still-room-for-improvement/articleshow/80398998.cms">Amazfit GTS 2 review – feature-rich, but there’s still room for improvement</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/apps/news/whatsapp-to-soon-introduce-voice-and-video-calls-for-web-multi-device-support-jiomart-integration-and-more/articleshow/80398791.cms">WhatsApp to soon introduce voice and video calls for Web, multi-device support, JioMart integration and more</a>

Final stage of Budget 2021-22 commences with Halwa ceremony

Mumbai, The <keyword id="3898005" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="fiscal-support">fiscal support</keyword> toward economic growth in the 2020 decade is expected to be lower than in the previous corresponding period, <keyword id="113829" type="DOMAIN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Motilal-Oswal-Financial-Services">Motilal Oswal Financial Services</keyword> said in a report. According to the report, the likely lower support will be caused due to Centre's efforts for fiscal consolidation. Notably, the report pointed out that <keyword id="26362" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="Government">government</keyword> has shown 'remarkable' resistance to any major stimulus, which provides further confidence that Centre's finances could improve consistently over the next decade. "While the fiscal deficit would remain above 3% of <keyword id="35050" type="CITY" weightage="20" keywordseo="gdp">GDP</keyword> for the next few years, the path to fiscal consolidation would be watched closely," the report said. "The faster the fiscal consolidation, the lower would be the fiscal support toward economic growth and vice-versa. It could take many years for the general government to bring its debt-to-GDP ratio (at 86% of GDP in 2QFY21) back down to pre-COVID levels (of 68%)." As per the report, the growth in the 2000s decade was led by investments, while consumption was the key driver in the 2010s decade. "The 2020s decade could be seen as the 'Healing Decade,' wherein all efforts are toward just one objective - to regain lost economic strength." "If, however, this healing does not happen, it is very likely the economy would continue to crawl sideways - with some years of decent growth and some years of weak growth - leading to subdued average growth." Besides, the report cited that Covid impacted 2020 led to extreme behaviors, pushing financial savings sharply higher, this would start reversing from 2021 as things begin to normalise. "Whether Indian households would keep their financial positions healthy is an important prerequisite for better growth performance over the long term." "As households and the government remain cautious on spending and repair their <keyword id="68967" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="balance-sheets">balance sheets</keyword>, a sharp and sudden surge in non-government investments is unlikely. All of these factors imply that while economic revival may be limited over the next few years." Accordingly, the improved balance sheets of economic participants - along with sustained improvements in some key areas such as revival in real estate and manufacturing would set the stage to move from low to high-single-digit growth before the end of the 2020s decade. SEE ALSO: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/policy/economy/news/recession-in-india-will-end-latest-by-march-says-a-top-economist/articleshow/80399198.cms">Recession in India will end latest by March, says a top economist</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/news/amazfit-smartwatch-gts-2-review-feature-rich-but-theres-still-room-for-improvement/articleshow/80398998.cms">Amazfit GTS 2 review – feature-rich, but there’s still room for improvement</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/apps/news/whatsapp-to-soon-introduce-voice-and-video-calls-for-web-multi-device-support-jiomart-integration-and-more/articleshow/80398791.cms">WhatsApp to soon introduce voice and video calls for Web, multi-device support, JioMart integration and more</a>

Fiscal support for growth in 2020 decade likely to be lower, says report

<ul><li>WhatsApp has posted its India revenues for the first time for fiscal year 2019.</li><li>The messaging app has reported revenues of Rs 6.84 crore for fiscal 2019 and a profit of Rs 57 lakh for the financial year under review.</li><li>WhatsApp currently has 400 million users in India, its biggest market. </li></ul> Facebook-owned messaging app WhatsApp has posted its India revenues for the first time for fiscal year 2019. In documents filed with the Registrar of Companies (ROC) WhatsApp has reported revenues of Rs 6.84 crore for fiscal 2019 and a profit of Rs 57 lakh for the financial year under review, according to a report by The Economic Times. In the filing, WhatsApp stated that IT-enabled business process and outsourcing services were its sources of revenue. The document also stated that the messaging app is awaiting approvals from regulatory authorities for its payment service. The company had stated that it had incurred expenses of Rs 5 lakh for FY18 and had not posted any revenues for the same fiscal. WhatsApp posted its first year of profit a year after launching its <keyword id="4936066" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="whatsapp-business">WhatsApp Business</keyword> app for businesses to communicate with their customers. Currently, close to a million businesses in India are using the WhatsApp business app to connect with their customers. WhatsApp currently has 400 million users in India, which is its biggest market.

WhatsApp India posts profits of Rs 57.18 lakh for FY19, its first profitable year in India

Meta-owned WhatsApp has become a spam factory as more than one in two Indians now say that they are facing four or more spam messages each day, a report showed on Wednesday. Despite clear norms laid by the <keyword id="30356" type="General" weightage="80" keywordseo="telecom-regulatory-authority-of-india" source="Orion">Telecom Regulatory Authority of India</keyword> (TRAI) on unsolicited communication, consumers still face unwanted calls, SMS (short messaging services) and Whatsapp messages from vendors, telemarketers, banks, insurance brokers, car dealers, pathology labs, property and other investment agents, among others. About 68 per cent of mobile subscribers, on average, receive 4 or more promotional or spam SMSs every day with every subscriber surveyed getting spam, according to the online community platform <keyword id="6379818" type="General" weightage="80" keywordseo="localcircles" source="Orion">LocalCircles</keyword>. About 95 per cent of Whatsapp subscribers surveyed got spam while every mobile subscriber surveyed got it. Financial services, real estate services, and pathology services are the top sectors sending spam SMS as well as spam Whatsapp, indicating the same offenders are now spamming using both channels. About 77 per cent of mobile subscribers surveyed want the TRAI to work with telcos and enable a mark spam feature with each SMS. There were reports that the Department of Telecommunication (DOT) has decided to levy fines ranging from Rs 1,000 per violation for zero-10 breaches, Rs 5,000 each for 10-50 violations, and Rs 10,000 each for more than 50 violations by registered telemarketers. However, the telecom authority has not issued any notification in this regard. "Unsolicited SMS, not to be confused with communication from government or any other authorised source, is a misuse of citizens' personal data. Many people face issues of unwanted messages and calls made to them by fraudsters, spammers, telemarketers, despite registering on TRAI's Do Not Call Registry (NDNS)," the findings showed. Last year, around 93 million phone numbers registered with the TRAI's NDNS were kept on sale on the Darknet, according to reports. <keyword id="4936066" type="General" weightage="80" keywordseo="whatsapp-business" source="Orion">Whatsapp Business</keyword> was rolled out a few years ago and in 2021, the company mandated that users of the platform must receive messages from Whatsapp Business (based on their usage of Whatsapp and parent platform Facebook) for them to continue using the platform, according to LocalCircles report. While users resisted this initially and started using alternate platforms like <keyword id="6380504" type="General" weightage="80" keywordseo="signal" source="Orion">Signal</keyword> and <keyword id="1275203" type="General" weightage="80" keywordseo="telegram" source="Orion">Telegram</keyword>, over time most gave up and accepted the revised terms. About 77 per cent said that TRAI should work with telcos to mandatorily embed mark spam in each SMS message so users can easily report spammers. SEE ALSO: <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/news/iit-jodhpur-researchers-design-robotic-trainers-for-lower-limb-rehabilitation/articleshow/94814727.cms" style="">IIT-Jodhpur researchers design robotic trainers for lower limb rehabilitation</a> <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/news/samsung-says-will-roll-out-5g-software-update-by-mid-november-in-india/articleshow/94807741.cms">Samsung says will roll out 5G software update by mid-November in India</a>

WhatsApp now a spam factory, 1 in 2 Indian swamped with promotional messages: report

Head of WhatsApp Payment in <keyword id="3658" type="General" weightage="80" keywordseo="india" source="Orion">India</keyword>, Manesh <keyword id="2729808" type="General" weightage="100" keywordseo="mahatme" source="Orion">Mahatme</keyword>, has quit the Meta-owned platform and is reportedly headed to <keyword id="18635" type="General" weightage="80" keywordseo="amazon" source="Orion">Amazon</keyword> where he previously worked. Mahatme worked at WhatsApp Payment for nearly 18 months and according to <keyword id="399907" type="General" weightage="80" keywordseo="meta" source="Orion">Meta</keyword>, he has played an important role in expanding the access to 'payments on WhatsApp' in India. "We wish him every success for his future endeavours. Payments on WhatsApp is a priority for Meta and we will continue to innovate and drive momentum as part of our broader efforts to bring the 'next 500 million Indians' onto the digital payments' ecosystem," a Meta spokesperson told IANS on Thursday. Mahatme had joined as Director and Head of <keyword id="4878801" type="General" weightage="80" keywordseo="whatsapp-pay" source="Orion">WhatsApp Pay</keyword> in April last year. Prior to joining WhatsApp, he was a director and board member at Amazon Pay India for about seven years. Late last year, the NPCI approved increasing the user cap for WhatsApp's payment service from the current 20 million to 40 million users. WhatsApp received the nod from the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) in April this year to expand the payment service to 100 million users. WhatsApp India has made significant investments regarding digital payments on its platform across the country, to accelerate its growth in a market where adoption of unified payments interface (<keyword id="6358921" type="General" weightage="80" keywordseo="upi" source="Orion">UPI</keyword>)-based payments has exploded. Mahatme recently told IANS that the Meta-owned company has introduced several India-specific features in payments on WhatsApp over the last few weeks and have seen exciting results. "We believe that WhatsApp Pay can be a key partner to the NPCI and RBI as we all aim to scale adoption of UPI and financial inclusion to those most in need," the top company executive had said. The Unified Payments Interface (UPI) registered a record 6.57 billion (657 crore) transactions worth Rs 10.72 lakh crore in August, according to the NPCI data. The growth in UPI volumes is up almost 100 per cent (year-on-year) and amounts transacted grew by 75 per cent YoY in the month of August. The country crossed six billion transactions for the first time last month, logging 6.28 billion transactions worth Rs 10.62 lakh crore. SEE ALSO : <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/science/news/james-webb-space-telescope-captures-striking-view-of-neptunes-rings/articleshow/94376980.cms">James Webb Space telescope captures striking view of Neptune's rings</a> <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/science/health/news/most-long-covid-patients-recover-within-a-year-study/articleshow/94378142.cms">Most long-Covid patients recover within a year: Study</a>

WhatsApp Pay India head Mahatme quits, likely to return to Amazon Pay

<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="4878801" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="whatsapp-pay" source="Orion">WhatsApp Pay</keyword> is looking to accelerate its growth in India.</li><li>The company is planning to invest a significant amount for its growth in India.</li><li>It will introduce several India-first features to attract more customers to its payment service.</li></ul><keyword id="790242" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="whatsapp" source="Orion">WhatsApp</keyword> Pay has been looking to take on its competitors in India, <keyword id="2750705" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="google-pay" source="Orion">Google Pay</keyword>, <keyword id="6357886" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="phonepe" source="Orion">PhonePe</keyword> and Paytm, head on given its large user base in the country. However, currently the company is facing a market cap of only 20million users in the country from the regulator National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI). Although NPCI has increased the cap to 40 million users, it only amounts to 8% of WhatsApp’s total user-base in the country, claimed to be 500 million. On the other hand, its competitors PhonePe and Google Pay have a market share of 46% and 34% respectively, and WhatsApp Pay amounts to less than 1% of the market share. <cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="India-first approach" comment="subhead" text="India-first approach">India-first approach</cmsannotation> To take on its competitors, Meta-owned WhatsApp is looking to make <a href="https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/tech/tech-bytes/whatsapp-pay-plans-significant-investments-in-next-six-months/articleshow/87968578.cms">significant investments </a>on its payment services in India to speed up its growth. In its India-centric approach, a large part of the investment is likely to go into cashback offerings to users on making transactions through its platforms. Recently, it was discovered that <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/news/whatsapp-offers-51-cashback-as-it-takes-on-phonepe-and-google-pay-in-india/articleshow/87357469.cms">WhatsApp was offering ₹51</a> cashback for the first five transactions done by its users. Luring customers through cashbacks also helped the likes of Google Pay and PhonePe grow in India. Apart from the cashback, WhatsApp has also introduced the ₹ symbol in its chats for payments. Even the camera icon in the chat composer allows users to scan any QR codes. According to Manesh Mahatme, WhatsApp India director-payments, the company has planned significant investments in WhatsApp Pay across India that will include several India-first features to accelerate the growth. <cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="Less trust" comment="subhead" text="Less trust">Less trust</cmsannotation> According to a report in <a href="https://www.techradar.com/in/news/whatsapp-pay-looks-to-up-its-game-in-india-this-is-how">TechRadar</a>, WhatsApp will find it hard to win against the likes of Google Pay, PhonePe and Paytm due to its perception. A fintech-analyst claims that according to their research people are less trusting of WhatsApp with financial transactions. So another focus of the heavy investment in India would be on improving its image and sowing trust among its users to use WhatsApp Pay for transactions. SEE ALSO: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/apps/news/meet-parag-agarwal-the-iit-bombay-grad-who-is-taking-over-from-jack-dorsey-at-twitter/articleshow/87989039.cms">Meet Parag Agrawal, the IIT-Bombay grad who is taking over from Jack Dorsey at Twitter</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/apps/news/here-are-the-winners-of-google-plays-best-of-2021-in-india/articleshow/87997438.cms">Google Play’s Best of 2021 India Awards: BGMI, Garena Free Fire MAX, Bitclass and Clubhouse top the ranks this year</a>

WhatsApp Pay to get several India-first features, including cashbacks, in the next six months

<keyword id="790242" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="whatsapp" source="Orion">WhatsApp</keyword> India on Tuesday said that over the next six months, it will make significant investments regarding digital payments on its platform across the country, to accelerate its growth in a market where adoption of unified payments interface (UPI)-based payments has exploded. According to Manesh Mahatme, Director-Payments, WhatsApp India, as the adoption of 'payments on WhatsApp' increases with users across the country, the company looks forward to working with the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) to further expand it to all users. "We thank the NPCI for the increase in our cap to 40 million (from an initial cap of 20 million). Since our initial approval from NPCI, we have been working to deliver a simple, reliable, and secure experience for WhatsApp users that we hope will accelerate adoption of UPI for the "next five hundred million" Indians," Mahatme said in a statement. Last week, the NPCI approved increasing the user cap for WhatsApp's payment service from the current 20 million to 40 million users. According to Mahatme, the Meta-owned company has introduced several India-specific features in payments on WhatsApp over the last few weeks and have seen exciting results. "Over the next six months, we have planned significant investments in payments on WhatsApp across India — including many more "India-first" features — that we are sure will accelerate our growth," he informed. There is an opportunity, he said, for UPI to have an even greater impact for the country — especially in rural regions where digital and financial inclusion can significantly improve peoples' lives. "We believe that <keyword id="4878801" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="whatsapp-pay" source="Orion">WhatsApp Pay</keyword> can be a key partner to the NPCI and RBI as we all aim to scale adoption of UPI and financial inclusion to those most in need," the top company executive noted. India saw a whopping ₹7.7 lakh crore (over $100 billion by value) digital transactions via UPI in October for the first time, according to latest data released by the NPCI. In the month of October that saw record festive shopping across e-commerce platforms, digital payments witnessed 4.2 billion UPI transactions in total. In September, the NPCI recorded digital payments worth ₹6.54 lakh crore via 3.65 billion UPI transactions. Currently, <keyword id="6357886" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="phonepe" source="Orion">PhonePe</keyword> is the leader in the digital payments space in the country. PhonePe registered digital transactions worth Rs 3.06 lakh crore. PhonePe currently has over 325 million registered users. The platform is also accepted at over 22 million merchant outlets across India. SEE ALSO: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/news/these-are-the-best-windows-11-widgets-to-improve-focus-and-boost-productivity/slidelist/88001924.cms">These are the best Windows 11 widgets to improve focus and boost productivity</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/enterprise/news/funny-memes-around-twitter-new-ceo-parag-agrawal/articleshow/88001274.cms">Between becoming Twitter’s CEO and gaining 10x more followers overnight, the craze around Parag Agrawal has taken some funny turns</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/news/whatsapp-pay-to-get-several-india-first-features-including-cashbacks-in-the-next-six-months/articleshow/87999238.cms">WhatsApp Pay to get several India-first features, including cashbacks, in the next six months</a>

WhatsApp Pay looks to accelerate growth in India with significant investments over next six months

Meta-owned <keyword id="790242" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="whatsapp" source="Orion">WhatsApp</keyword> has confirmed that it is running a cash-back campaign in <keyword id="3658" type="General" weightage="80" keywordseo="india" source="Orion">India</keyword> to drive more users on its digital payments service. The company is giving away Rs 11 cashback up to three times by sending money to three different contacts via unified payments interface (<keyword id="6358921" type="General" weightage="80" keywordseo="upi" source="Orion">UPI</keyword>) on WhatsApp. "We are running a campaign offering cashback incentives in a phased manner to our users as a way to unlock the potential of payments on WhatsApp," a company spokesperson told IANS. "We'll continue to drive awareness of payments on WhatsApp as part of our broader efforts to bring the next 500 million Indians onto the digital payments ecosystem," the spokesperson added. If you become eligible for the promotion, you will see a banner within the app, or a gift icon when you're sending money to an eligible receiver, according to WhatsApp. "Once selected, you can send money to any of your registered WhatsApp contacts and receive Rs 11 cashback per successful transaction," the company informed. Google and Paytm have also offered cask-back to users to drive more engagement and retention growth on their respective platforms. On its support page, WhatsApp said that it will not offer cash-back for QR code payments, payments made on collect requests or made by entering the UPI ID of recipient, as well as payments on third-party online apps using WhatsApp. Earlier this month, the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) approved an additional 60 million users for UPI for WhatsApp - taking its cap to 100 million for Payments. "We believe there is an opportunity for UPI to have an even greater impact for the country -- especially in rural regions where digital and financial inclusion can significantly improve peoples' lives," Manesh Mahatme, Director-Payments, WhatsApp India, had told IANS. In November last year, the NPCI approved increasing the user cap for WhatsApp's payment service from the current 20 million to 40 million users. The NPCI has been giving approval to WhatsApp in a phased manner so that the competition in the digital payment space in the country is not stifled. WhatsApp kicked off its ambitious peer-to-peer (P2P) digital payments pilot project in India in 2018 with nearly 10 lakh users. SEE ALSO: <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/startups/news/ola-may-be-rushing-into-electric-cars-when-scooters-continue-to-underperform/articleshow/91141264.cms">Is Ola hurrying into its electric car dream?</a> <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/india/news/adani-enterprises-sets-up-a-wholly-owned-media-arm/articleshow/91128727.cms"></a><a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/enterprise/news/google-expected-to-announce-the-pixel-6a-pixel-watch-and-android-13-in-i/o-2022/articleshow/91141500.cms">Google I/O 2022 – Pixel 6a, Pixel Watch, Android 13 and everything we expect to see</a>

Meta-owned WhatsApp runs cash-back campaign for making digital payments in India

New Delhi, Mar 21 () To combat the spread of Covid-19 outbreak, financial services providers have initiated proactive measures to ensure that critical services remain uninterrupted and have asked customers to prioritise the usage of digital mediums. SBI Card in a communication to customers has said it is ensuring that services remain uninterrupted. "With the situation escalating with every passing day, SBI Card has taken proactive measures to ensure uninterrupted services. Safety protocols across all our offices and touchpoints have been enhanced to fight this notified disaster," it said in an email to its customers on Saturday. Country's largest life insurer, state-owned LIC, has asked all its customers to register on its customer portal to avail online services like premium payments. Coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic has killed over 11,000 and sickened lakhs of people around the globe. Private sector insurer Bajaj Allianz Life has launched WhatsApp services for its policies wherein customers can access more than 20 services without any physical interaction. HDFC Mutual Fund said in wake of this pandemic and in line with the government advisory from time to time, "we are operating with considerably reduced employee strength... We therefore urge you to connect with us on HDFC AMC's digital platforms". On similar lines, YES Bank has asked its customers to opt for digital transactions. "To ensure safety of our teams due to Covid-19, are operating with reduced staff across all locations," YES Bank tweeted. The financial service providers have said that they are ensuring robust infrastructure and business continuity plan especially for critical functions like Information Technology, cyber security, fraud prevention. Further to the various advisories issued by Health Ministry, the companies have urged customers to prioritise usage of digital mediums. PNB Housing Finance said, "as part of PNB Housing preventive measure on Covid-19 outbreak, our offices will remain operational with reduced staff. "We encourage you to connect with us on our digital platforms. ...We wish you and your family good health," it said in a message to its customers. KPM DRRDRR

Financial service providers step up measures to fight coronavirus, urge digital usage

Facebook-owned <keyword id="790242" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="WhatsApp">WhatsApp</keyword> on Monday announced that it has appointed <keyword id="7634155" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Manesh-Mahatme">Manesh Mahatme</keyword> to lead the growth of its <keyword id="11529890" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="payments-business-in-india">Payments business in India</keyword>. As Director of WhatsApp Payments - <keyword id="3658" type="LOCATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="India">India</keyword>, Mahatme will focus on enhancing the payments experience for users, scaling the service offering and work towards contributing to WhatsApp's vision of digital and financial inclusion in India. "We are excited to have Manesh join our WhatsApp India team. Manesh has been one of key innovators driving the growth of digital payments in India over the last decade, and his experience will help us maximize the impact and scale of payments on WhatsApp," Abhijit Bose, Head of <keyword id="1710446" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="WhatsApp-in-India">WhatsApp in India</keyword>, said in a statement. "WhatsApp has immense potential to digitally empower people across segments and help accelerate the Government of India's efforts to drive financial inclusion through <keyword id="6358921" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="upi">UPI</keyword> and digital payments," Bose added. Mahatme brings with him 17 years of experience in digital financial services and payments across <keyword id="6400347" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="citibank">Citibank</keyword>, Airtel Money and <keyword id="18635" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Amazon">Amazon</keyword>. He joined WhatsApp from Amazon where he spent close to seven years as Director and Board member of Amazon Pay India and led product, engineering, and growth teams. Mahatme was also instrumental in building and scaling the payment experience and platform for <keyword id="6354743" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Amazon-India">Amazon India</keyword>'s marketplace business. "Payments on WhatsApp is uniquely placed to be a significant partner in the country's growth agenda by making digital payments accessible to users across the length and breadth of India. I am super excited to be a part of this growth story," said Mahatme. The company said it is committed to providing its users with the best payments experience, in a secure manner. WhatsApp's goal remains to offer payments as an added convenience to the users, and enable them to seamlessly send and receive money. See Also - <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/startups/news/tiger-global-overtakes-sequoia-as-the-top-investor-in-indian-unicorns-in-2021-cracks-15-deals-this-year-so-far/articleshow/83912624.cms">Tiger Global overtakes Sequoia as the top investor in Indian unicorns in 2021</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/stock-market/news/kims-ipo-listed-in-stock-market-at-over-20-premium/articleshow/83912694.cms">KIMS IPO: Stock listed at over 20% premium, loses initial gains after soaring to ₹1059 per share</a>

Facebook-owned WhatsApp ropes in former Amazon Pay executive Manesh Mahatme to lead its payments business in India

<ul><li>WhatsApp’s new privacy policy isn’t just about privacy — it’s about competition as well.</li><li>In sharing data with Facebook, regulators fear that the company and its subsidiary will elbow out any competition that even tries to enter the market.</li><li>This means that if you want to switch over from WhatsApp to another messaging platform in the future, there may not be too many options around.</li></ul>If you want to continue using WhatsApp, you’ll have to agree to their new privacy policy by May 15. While you may not care what happens to your data today, you may not even care that you don’t have a choice. However, if you change your mind tomorrow, regulators fear that the competition created may be so fierce that there won’t be any other messaging service around as an alternative. “Established corporations who have access to unique, voluminous and non-replicable datasets may create entry barriers for competitors by gatekeeping the data and restricting its use and access,” Neeraj Dubey, a partner at Singh &amp; Associates told Business Insider. <div type="Article" hostid="261" msid="82049581" title="What WhatsApp and Facebook want to do is worse than stalking, India's solicitor general tells court" mstype="2" mssubtype="0"></div> This is why one of Germany’s toughest data regulators is seeking an ‘<a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-04-13/facebook-faces-german-bid-to-halt-collection-of-whatsapp-data">immediately enforceable order</a>’ before the new terms and conditions kick in. “It is… all the more important to ensure that the high number of users, which makes the service attractive to many people, does not lead to an abusive exploitation of data power,” said data commissioner Johannes Caspar in a statement on Tuesday. And Germany isn’t the only country worried about what WhatsApp’s new privacy policy will mean for users. The Turkish Data Protection Authority also has an ongoing investigation against WhatsApp and so does India’s Competition Commission of India (CCI). “The investigation ordered by the CCI is an interesting development and mirrors the approach of various global competition law authorities to try and regulate the non-price conduct of digital and data gatekeepers,” Unnati Agarwal, a partner at legal firm IndusLaw, told Business Insider India. <cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="Where does one draw the line between normal data collection and ‘excessive’ data collection?" comment="subhead" text="Where does one draw the line between normal data collection and ‘excessive’ data collection?">Where does one draw the line between normal data collection and ‘excessive’ data collection?</cmsannotation> WhatsApp and its parent company, Facebook, believe that the <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/apps/news/what-whatsapp-and-facebook-want-to-do-is-worse-than-stalking-indias-solicitor-general-tells-court/articleshow/82049581.cms">issue is only about user privacy</a>, which they claim to protect, not competition. But the vast popularity of the messaging platform has regulators thinking otherwise. Apart from the ‘take it or leave it’ approach from WhatsApp and Facebook, the bigger question around their new policy is — how much data is too much data? The tech giants believe that is a question that only the law can answer, not data regulators. But the problem lies in the fact that there is no ‘one size fits all’ approach to address the issue. Many sectors collect data and use that data for analysis, and they all have different benchmarks. For instance, the media uses it to track trends, banks have direct access to entire repositories of customer financial data, healthcare has medical records of patients, classrooms are being digitised, even agriculture is using data to optimise food production. Big data is everywhere. “Data collected, which could be excessive in one sector, could be termed minimal in another sector. For example, a sample size of data required in the financial versus the healthcare sector would be vastly different,” explains Dubey. According to him, this is why the power to decide what is and isn’t ‘excessive’ data lies with the CCI and other competition regulators. They can judge on a case-by-case basis where the line lies, and if it is elbowing other players out of the market. In the case of WhatsApp and Facebook, regulators are concerned that the majority of user data will be controlled by a few corporations and their subsidiaries leading to a monopoly that will be difficult to break once it's in place. SEE ALSO: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/science/space/news/indian-astronomers-spot-over-200-new-stars-in-the-pacman-nebula-and-51-of-them-are-yet-to-reach-adulthood/articleshow/82060301.cms">Indian astronomers spot over 200 new stars in the Pacman Nebula — and 51 of them are yet to reach adulthood</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/apps/news/what-whatsapp-and-facebook-want-to-do-is-worse-than-stalking-indias-solicitor-general-tells-court/articleshow/82049581.cms">What WhatsApp and Facebook want to do is worse than stalking, India's solicitor general tells court</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/india/news/no-lockdown-in-maharashtra-but-new-restrictions-are-coming-in-on-april-14-uddhav-thackeray-promises-they-will-be-strict/articleshow/82053057.cms">No lockdown in Maharashtra, Section 144 will kick in from tomorrow for the next 15 days</a>

WhatsApp's new privacy policy doesn't give you choice — and could limit your options in the future too

<ul><li><keyword id="790242" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="WhatsApp">WhatsApp</keyword> voice and video calls are now available for some beta users.</li><li>The feature is expected to be rolled out to more users in the coming days.</li><li>WhatsApp is also working on multi-device support, JioMart integration and more.</li></ul>Facebook-owned messaging app WhatsApp is working on adding a new feature for WhatsApp Web users, allowing them to place voice and video calls right from their computer, improving video calling experience. The two services <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/news/despite-concerns-zoom-sales-boom-amid-covid-19-pandemic/articleshow/76169526.cms">saw a boom</a> in users during the COVID-19 pandemic due to more people working from home and using video conferencing to connect with the outside world. As per a <a href="https://wabetainfo.com/whatsapp-beta-calls-available-on-whatsapp-web-desktop/">report</a>, some users have started seeing a button for voice calls and video calls on the WhatsApp Web with a ‘beta’ tag. The buttons are being shown in the chat header. <div type="twitter" handle="tomyto" handlename="Guillermo Tomoyose" image="http://pbs.twimg.com/profile_images/542493695371517954/rbMtVHH3_normal.jpeg" favoritecount="12" retweetcount="3" status="@WABetaInfo this is a new feature for WhatsApp Web? (from Windows 10 app) https://t.co/ntCO2VxJbU" createdat="1611250945000" id="1352310598059618305"></div> The feature was spotted by a Twitter user Guillermo Tomoyose from Argentina. When a user receives or makes a call, a separate pop-up window will open, allowing the user to control the call. Just like mobile, Web users will be able to view their call history in a separate tab. The voice calls and video calls feature is currently in beta and is available to a limited number of users. Do not worry if you haven’t received the feature yet as it will probably be available for more users in the coming days. WhatsApp is currently facing a lot of backlash from users across the world after it announced a controversial <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/apps/news/whatsapp-will-stop-working-if-you-do-not-agree-to-its-new-terms-and-privacy-policies/articleshow/80127866.cms">privacy policy update</a>. While the company said that the features are <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/apps/news/whatsapp-says-your-privacy-wont-be-affected-if-you-dont-use-these-features/articleshow/80225748.cms">optional</a>, the Indian government has asked the messaging app to withdraw its <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/apps/news/whatsapp-has-reportedly-received-a-stern-message-from-the-indian-government-on-its-new-privacy-policy/articleshow/80344374.cms">privacy policy changes</a>. WhatsApp is also working on several other features, including multi-device support, JioMart integration and offering online insurance services. Let’s look at WhatsApp’s upcoming features. <cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="Multi-device support" comment="subhead" text="Multi-device support">Multi-device support</cmsannotation> WhatsApp is currently working on multi-device support, which will allow users to log in on a new device by clicking on the ‘Link a new device’ button. Currently, WhatsApp does not allow users to use the same account on different devices, a feature that has been available for quite some time on Telegram. Telegram allows users to log into a secondary device by sending an OTP to the first device. <cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="WhatsApp and JioMart integration" comment="subhead" text="WhatsApp and JioMart integration">WhatsApp and JioMart integration</cmsannotation> Mukesh Ambani-led JioMart is <a href="https://www.indiatoday.in/technology/news/story/reliance-plans-to-integrate-jiomart-in-whatsapp-within-6-months-1760083-2021-01-18#:~:text=People%20can%20place%20their%20orders,is%20valid%20for%2030%20minutes.">reportedly</a> working on integrating its app with WhatsApp, allowing users to order groceries directly from the messaging app. JioMart is expected to become a mini-app within WhatsApp in the next six months. <cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="Digital insurance" comment="subhead" text="Digital insurance">Digital insurance</cmsannotation> After getting <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/finance/news/whatsapp-pay-upi-services-gets-the-green-signal-from-npci-but-rollout-will-be-in-a-graded-manner/articleshow/79068908.cms">approval</a> from National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) to start its payments service in India, the Facebook-owned app is now reportedly looking to offer more financial service and it is <a href="https://inc42.com/buzz/from-loans-to-ecommerce-whatsapps-india-plans-for-2021/">expected</a> to start with micro pensions and digital insurance services. SEE ALSO: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/apps/news/whatsapp-has-reportedly-received-a-stern-message-from-the-indian-government-on-its-new-privacy-policy/articleshow/80344374.cms">WhatsApp has been told to withdraw its privacy changes by the Indian government</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/apps/news/whatsapp-says-your-privacy-wont-be-affected-if-you-dont-use-these-features/articleshow/80225748.cms">WhatsApp says your privacy won't be affected if you don't use these two optional features</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/apps/how-to/how-to-move-whatsapp-groups-to-signal-app/articleshow/80213969.cms">How to move WhatsApp group to Signal app</a>

You Searched For "whatsapp financial services" and got 13 results

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Meta-owned WhatsApp runs cash-back campaign for making digital payments in India

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Financial service providers step up measures to fight coronavirus, urge digital usage

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WhatsApp's new privacy policy doesn't give you choice — and could limit your options in the future too

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WhatsApp to soon introduce voice and video calls for Web, multi-device support, JioMart integration and more

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