WhatsApp Pay has seen a sharp surge in user activity, processing 167.89 million UPI transactions worth ₹12,957.07 crore in July. That is more than double what it handled in July of last year, when numbers stood at 74.6 million transactions valued at ₹5,412.58 crore. This rapid climb has pushed Meta’s payment service up to the eighth spot among India’s top UPI apps by volume, comfortably pulling ahead of well-known names like CRED and Amazon Pay.
The turnaround really gained steam after the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) lifted its onboarding restrictions on WhatsApp Pay in late 2024. When the service first rolled out in late 2020, regulatory guidelines restricted it to just 20 million users. That cap was gradually expanded to 40 million and then 100 million before the payments authority finally allowed unrestricted sign-ups. With those barriers gone, Meta has been able to weave seamless payments straight into its massive chat interface, making peer-to-peer transfers and in-app merchant payments much more natural for regular users.
Even with WhatsApp Pay’s volume climb, the broader value numbers still tell a slightly different story. Platforms like CRED maintain a strong lead in overall transaction value simply because users turn to them for larger expenses, like high-ticket credit card bills and rent. Meanwhile, the lion's share of India's UPI traffic continues to sit with the top three players: PhonePe, Google Pay, and Paytm. Still, WhatsApp Pay’s steady double-digit momentum shows that everyday users are increasingly getting used to the convenience of paying directly inside their chats.