Meta Rolls Out In-WhatsApp Payments for Small Businesses

Meta will enable small businesses to use the WhatsApp Business App to accept payments.

While hosting its second business conference in Mumbai, India, the tech giant unveiled a number of new services in a press release on Thursday, September 18.

For rapid and effective sales closing, small companies may now share QR codes on the app with just a single tap, allowing clients to pay straight within WhatsApp using their preferred payment method, according to the release.

It’s more important than ever for retailers to make sure they give customers the payment options they want, when they want to use them, as PYMNTS observed earlier this year.

According to the PYMNTS Intelligence research “What Consumers Do When Their Go-To Credit Choice Is Unavailable,” retail payments may encounter difficulties in a number of situations. A consumer may be approaching their credit limit, for instance, or decide they would prefer to use a card that offers points for the purchase.

PYMNTS reported in April that “When the friction is in the mix, consumers may be tempted to switch to another payment option, which takes time, or they might opt to walk away from the purchase altogether, which has a dual, negative effect.” “The customer does not get what they wanted, and the merchant loses out on incremental revenue.”

Of the 2,342 consumers who recently used credit for a necessary purchase, 76% paid with credit cards, 6.1% utilized buy now, pay later (BNPL) or other installment plans, and 18% used another kind of credit, according to a PYMNTS poll.

“The preferences for certain payment vehicles remained relatively consistent for nonessential purchases, where 73% used credit cards, 10% used BNPL or installment plans and 18% opted for another type of credit,” the report said.

In the meantime, Meta announced in a news statement on Thursday that merchants can now use the WhatsApp Business App and the WhatsApp Business Platform simultaneously without changing their phone number, marking another new service targeted for small enterprises.

“If a business is expecting a surge in customer messages on WhatsApp from the marketing campaigns (like CTWA) or if they want to enable automation, they can use the WhatsApp Business Platform (API), while they can continue to use the WhatsApp Business App for day-to-day interactions like group chats, calls and status updates,” the release said. “This provides significant flexibility and scalability for businesses that are scaling and growing at a faster pace.”