WhatsApp Pay races up UPI charts with 167 million transactions, overtakes Cred and Amazon Pay
NPCI had approved WhatsApp Pay to go live on UPI in November 2020 under the multi-bank model, initially allowing it to onboard up to 20 million users.
- Aug 17, 2026,
- Updated Aug 17, 2026 2:56 PM IST
WhatsApp Pay has sharply expanded its presence in India’s UPI market, processing 167.89 million transactions worth ₹12,957.07 crore in July 2026. Its transaction volume was more than twice the 74.6 million transactions recorded in the same month last year, according to a report by Business Standard.
The Meta-owned messaging platform’s payments service is now the eighth-largest UPI app in India by transaction volume, moving ahead of players such as Cred and Amazon Pay.
In July 2025, WhatsApp Pay processed 74.6 million transactions valued at ₹5,412.58 crore. It crossed the 100 million transaction mark for the first time in December 2025.
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The sharp rise in payments activity comes around 19 months after the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) removed restrictions on WhatsApp Pay’s user onboarding in December 2024. The move allowed the platform to expand its UPI user base without the earlier caps.
NPCI had approved WhatsApp Pay to go live on UPI in November 2020 under the multi-bank model, initially allowing it to onboard up to 20 million users. The limit was increased to 40 million in 2021 and then to 100 million in 2022. In 2024, NPCI removed the restrictions on the number of users WhatsApp Pay could onboard.
Despite its rapid growth, WhatsApp Pay remains well behind the three biggest UPI platforms. In July 2026, PhonePe processed 10.85 billion transactions, followed by Google Pay with 7.64 billion and Paytm with 1.90 billion transactions.
WhatsApp Pay's UPI growth over the years
- July 2022: 6.18 million transactions worth ₹502.00 crore
- July 2023: 17.84 million transactions worth ₹1,598.67 crore
- July 2024: 41.39 million transactions worth ₹3,215.18 crore
- July 2025: 74.60 million transactions worth ₹5,412.58 crore
- July 2026: 167.89 million transactions worth ₹12,957.07 crore
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At the time of the launch, WhatsApp partnered with ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank, Axis Bank, State Bank of India and Jio Payments Bank. The payments feature was designed to let users send and receive money within WhatsApp, without having to use a separate payments app.
WhatsApp Pay has sharply expanded its presence in India’s UPI market, processing 167.89 million transactions worth ₹12,957.07 crore in July 2026. Its transaction volume was more than twice the 74.6 million transactions recorded in the same month last year, according to a report by Business Standard.
The Meta-owned messaging platform’s payments service is now the eighth-largest UPI app in India by transaction volume, moving ahead of players such as Cred and Amazon Pay.
In July 2025, WhatsApp Pay processed 74.6 million transactions valued at ₹5,412.58 crore. It crossed the 100 million transaction mark for the first time in December 2025.
Don't Miss: Govt to soon announce high-level committee on banking: FM Nirmala Sitharaman
The sharp rise in payments activity comes around 19 months after the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) removed restrictions on WhatsApp Pay’s user onboarding in December 2024. The move allowed the platform to expand its UPI user base without the earlier caps.
NPCI had approved WhatsApp Pay to go live on UPI in November 2020 under the multi-bank model, initially allowing it to onboard up to 20 million users. The limit was increased to 40 million in 2021 and then to 100 million in 2022. In 2024, NPCI removed the restrictions on the number of users WhatsApp Pay could onboard.
Despite its rapid growth, WhatsApp Pay remains well behind the three biggest UPI platforms. In July 2026, PhonePe processed 10.85 billion transactions, followed by Google Pay with 7.64 billion and Paytm with 1.90 billion transactions.
WhatsApp Pay's UPI growth over the years
- July 2022: 6.18 million transactions worth ₹502.00 crore
- July 2023: 17.84 million transactions worth ₹1,598.67 crore
- July 2024: 41.39 million transactions worth ₹3,215.18 crore
- July 2025: 74.60 million transactions worth ₹5,412.58 crore
- July 2026: 167.89 million transactions worth ₹12,957.07 crore
Must Read: WhatsApp makes photos, videos and stickers easier to find: Here’s what’s coming to your chats
At the time of the launch, WhatsApp partnered with ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank, Axis Bank, State Bank of India and Jio Payments Bank. The payments feature was designed to let users send and receive money within WhatsApp, without having to use a separate payments app.