India’s biggest mobile-payment platform Paytm is on the verge of stepping in the instant messenger arena. A report by Wall Street Journal says the company’s new messaging feature will allow users to message, send videos and images for free. The Indian startup has more than 225 million users on its platform.
With such a user base, Paytm might be able to cut out a slice of the huge instant messaging market of India. The company is already in advanced stages and could roll out the feature in two weeks, a source familiar with the development said. The news comes amidst reports that WhatsApp is planning a foray into the digital payment segment soon. A recent job opening was posted on WhatsApp’s official blog for the post of productions manager.
Paytm has just finished a successful round of funding and received $1.4 billion from Japan’s SoftBank Group Corp. The move by Paytm takes it more and more close to China’s Wechat platform which has 1 billion users. The app not only allows users to text, but to pay bills, call rides, and even play games on the platform. Elsewhere, India’s biggest messaging app, Hike, also backed by Tencent Holdings Ltd. already has mobile payments feature.
