The social media platform and messaging service company WhatsaApp us getting ready to enter the booming digital payments industry in India and has reportedly roped in a top Amazon executive for heading the company’s payments business in the country.
According to reports quoting sources with knowledge of the matter, WhatsApp has already hired Manesh Mahatme, who has the experience of working for Amazon Pay for almost seven years and he is set to join the payments division of the messaging service firm as its head very soon.
There were no comments in the reports available from WhatsApp, Amazon Pay and Mahatme.
For WhatsApp, India is its single largest market in terms of number of users at more than 500 million and the company is the newest entrant in the digital payments industry in the country. This sector is projected to grow significantly and will be worth $135 billion by 2023 according to estimates of the research wing of PwC and Indian industry body ASSOCHAM.
Launching of its payments business in India was approved by the Indian regulators last year after a long wait for the company. However the regulators have also capped the business at 20 million users so far.
However, WhatsApp will be able to provide its payments services to millions of mom-and-pop and neighbourhood stores in India because of its own big ambitions and the deal last year by Facebook for making an investment of $5.7 billion in billionaire Mukesh Ambani's Jio Platforms digital unit.
"Mahatme is a hardcore payments professional, that's the missing link for WhatsApp," one of the reports quoted sources as saying.
While being the digital wallet-service on the e-commerce giant Amazon's India website, Amazon Pay has also been increasingly offering its users services such as online bill payments.
According to the LinkedIn profile of Mahatme, his job responsibility at Amazon Pay as a director included managing a team of senior product, engineering and business development leaders.
According to previous reports, WhatsApp also has plans of further deepening its relationship with banks in its ambitions to offer financial services such as pensions and insurance, as commented on last year by the company’s India head Abhijit Bose who is also a veteran of the payments industry of the country.
(Source:www.ndtv.com)
According to reports quoting sources with knowledge of the matter, WhatsApp has already hired Manesh Mahatme, who has the experience of working for Amazon Pay for almost seven years and he is set to join the payments division of the messaging service firm as its head very soon.
There were no comments in the reports available from WhatsApp, Amazon Pay and Mahatme.
For WhatsApp, India is its single largest market in terms of number of users at more than 500 million and the company is the newest entrant in the digital payments industry in the country. This sector is projected to grow significantly and will be worth $135 billion by 2023 according to estimates of the research wing of PwC and Indian industry body ASSOCHAM.
Launching of its payments business in India was approved by the Indian regulators last year after a long wait for the company. However the regulators have also capped the business at 20 million users so far.
However, WhatsApp will be able to provide its payments services to millions of mom-and-pop and neighbourhood stores in India because of its own big ambitions and the deal last year by Facebook for making an investment of $5.7 billion in billionaire Mukesh Ambani's Jio Platforms digital unit.
"Mahatme is a hardcore payments professional, that's the missing link for WhatsApp," one of the reports quoted sources as saying.
While being the digital wallet-service on the e-commerce giant Amazon's India website, Amazon Pay has also been increasingly offering its users services such as online bill payments.
According to the LinkedIn profile of Mahatme, his job responsibility at Amazon Pay as a director included managing a team of senior product, engineering and business development leaders.
According to previous reports, WhatsApp also has plans of further deepening its relationship with banks in its ambitions to offer financial services such as pensions and insurance, as commented on last year by the company’s India head Abhijit Bose who is also a veteran of the payments industry of the country.
(Source:www.ndtv.com)
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