On September 20, WhatsApp announced that it will accept credit card payments and services from competing digital payment providers within its app in India, the company's latest bet to expand its commerce offerings in its largest market.

WhatsApp has over 500 million users in India, but regulators have limited the service's in-app WhatsApp Pay to only 100 million people. Customers shopping on WhatsApp could also pay using popular services like Alphabet's Google Pay, Paytm, and Walmart's PhonePe, but only after being redirected away from the app.

Payments through those rival services, as well as any others that use India's instant money transfer system UPI, will now be possible directly within WhatsApp, according to Meta in a blog post. New in-app credit and debit card options will also be offered.

The additions support Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg's plan for business messaging to become the "next major pillar" of the company's sales growth, an agenda that has gained urgency as Meta's core ad business and metaverse project have faced challenges.

While the number of WhatsApp Pay users in India will remain capped, there is no such limit on the number of users permitted to transact with businesses on WhatsApp using the other methods, according to a Meta spokesperson.

With approximately 300 million people spending approximately US$180 billion through India's UPI each month, the new transaction options could be a powerful enticement for businesses to pay Meta for access to WhatsApp users.