India's competition commission dismisses case against WhatsApp's payment solution
By Abhay Venkatesh · Aug 19, 2020
By Abhay Venkatesh · Aug 19, 2020
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WhatsApp introduced its payments feature in beta form in India back in 2018. The feature was built on the country’s Unified Payments Interface (UPI) – an API designed, maintained, and regulated by the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI). A few competing players in the country raised concerns about the Facebook-owned company’s system which were clarified by the regulator itself.
However, a complaint was also filed with the Competition Commission of India (CCI) against the messaging service’s payments solution plans, which argued that the firm’s Для просмотра ссылки Войдиили Зарегистрируйся will provide it an upper hand over competitors. The CCI yesterday dismissed the case against WhatsApp, closing one of the Для просмотра ссылки Войди или Зарегистрируйся currently being investigated by the watchdog.
The regulatory body released a Для просмотра ссылки Войдиили Зарегистрируйся describing the entire case that also cites the reasons why the case was being dismissed. The commission stated that it “does not find much merit in the allegation” since the payments app and messaging solutions are separate entities and that the usage of the messaging app does not directly translate into transactions.
Additionally, users must voluntarily opt into the payments app, and have complete control over their choices. WhatsApp terms the payment solution a “value-added feature to the WhatsApp messenger service”, which means that users are not mandated to sign-up for the UPI-based app to be able to use the messaging app.
WhatsApp argued that the payments solution was currently “limited to less than 1% of its users in India”, and that its two offerings are “two distinct products”.
While the CCI acknowledges that the payments' offering is not dominant in any form, it does note that WhatsApp is a “dominant player” in the “market for OTT messaging apps through smartphones in India”. It adds:
With this case dismissed against the messaging platform, it is one step closer to being able to launch its payments platform in the country.
The firm’s troubles with introducing the offering are not limited to India. It launched its payments solution in Brazil – another market where the Для просмотра ссылки Войдиили Зарегистрируйся – in June. However, the Для просмотра ссылки Войди или Зарегистрируйся the service citing competitive advantages for the company.
Source: Для просмотра ссылки Войдиили Зарегистрируйся via Для просмотра ссылки Войди или Зарегистрируйся
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WhatsApp introduced its payments feature in beta form in India back in 2018. The feature was built on the country’s Unified Payments Interface (UPI) – an API designed, maintained, and regulated by the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI). A few competing players in the country raised concerns about the Facebook-owned company’s system which were clarified by the regulator itself.
However, a complaint was also filed with the Competition Commission of India (CCI) against the messaging service’s payments solution plans, which argued that the firm’s Для просмотра ссылки Войди
The regulatory body released a Для просмотра ссылки Войди
Additionally, users must voluntarily opt into the payments app, and have complete control over their choices. WhatsApp terms the payment solution a “value-added feature to the WhatsApp messenger service”, which means that users are not mandated to sign-up for the UPI-based app to be able to use the messaging app.
WhatsApp argued that the payments solution was currently “limited to less than 1% of its users in India”, and that its two offerings are “two distinct products”.
While the CCI acknowledges that the payments' offering is not dominant in any form, it does note that WhatsApp is a “dominant player” in the “market for OTT messaging apps through smartphones in India”. It adds:
The company – along with parent firm Facebook – has also been accused of misuse of data. However, those allegations do not fall under the ambit of this investigation.
With this case dismissed against the messaging platform, it is one step closer to being able to launch its payments platform in the country.
The firm’s troubles with introducing the offering are not limited to India. It launched its payments solution in Brazil – another market where the Для просмотра ссылки Войди
Source: Для просмотра ссылки Войди
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