On September 20, Meta CEO, Mark Zuckerberg unveiled new product features mainly focused on business messaging, considering India as a priority market to drive the growth of WhatsApp Business.
WhatsApp Business Offering Business Messaging
Further, Zuckerberg said that WhatsApp will soon enable users to purchase directly from businesses within the app and enable businesses to create customized experiences for customers through WhatsApp Flows, during the Meta’s Conversations event at the Jio Convention Centre in Mumbai.
Adding, “We’re going to support other payment methods as well, including all UPI apps. This is gonna make it even easier for people to pay in businesses within WhatsApp chat using whatever method they prefer.”
In order to roll out this feature for Indian businesses, Meta is partnering with fintech companies Razorpay and PayU.
Also having a similar partnership with Stripe to enable merchant payments on WhatsApp in Singapore.
A similar kind of service is offered by WhatsApp for merchants in Brazil.
Zuckerberg said, “India is leading the world in terms of how people and businesses embrace messaging, a better way to get things done.”
Prior to this, he had referred to business messaging as a “major monetisation opportunity” and one of the company’s key investment areas for 2023.
More Faster and Convenient Features
With the help of WhatsApp Flows, it allows businesses the ability to create customized chat windows for businesses based on the services they offer.
This new feature will be much faster and more convenient for customers to shop than having to jump between apps or websites, saud the Meta chief.
In the meantime, Meta is also working on expansion of its paid verification programme, Meta Verified to businesses in India.
Soon, the company plans to start testing Meta Verified with small businesses using the WhatsApp Business app before rolling out to businesses on the WhatsApp Business Platform.
Besides WhatsApp, Meta is also rolling out Meta Verified for businesses across Instagram and Facebook in the coming months.
This move is expected to assure consumers that they are interacting with verified and authentic businesses.
At the start of June, Meta expanded its Verified program for Indian users after testing it in the United States, Australia, and New Zealand.
When it comes to Meta Verified, it offers several features to users, including a verified badge, proactive account protection, and access to account support.
