WhatsApp, at Meta’s second annual Conversations conference in Mumbai, has unveiled a suite of new features aimed at businesses in India. These enhancements include “Flows,” enabling businesses to create customized chat experiences for customers; “Payments,” facilitating in-chat payments for customers; and “Meta Verified,” offering businesses authenticity verification and added benefits.
Flows empowers businesses to construct interactive menus and forms within chats, allowing customers to perform various tasks without leaving the conversation. This versatile feature can be employed by banks to facilitate appointment booking for new account openings, by food delivery services to streamline orders from partner restaurants, or by airlines to simplify flight check-in and seat selection. Flows is set to roll out to businesses worldwide using the WhatsApp Business Platform in the coming weeks.
The “Payments” feature enhances the purchasing process within chats. In India, customers can now fill their cart and initiate payments using various methods, including supported UPI apps, debit and credit cards, and more. WhatsApp has collaborated with payment partners Razorpay and PayU to streamline the payment experience. Payments are already operational in Brazil and Singapore.
“Meta Verified” allows businesses to attain verification from Meta, assuring customers that they are engaging with a legitimate business entity. Meta Verified status entails demonstrating authenticity to Meta, which grants a verified badge, advanced account support, and protection against impersonation. This feature will also offer premium capabilities like the creation of a customized WhatsApp page searchable via web search and multi-device support to enable multiple employees to engage with customers. Meta Verified will undergo testing with small businesses using the WhatsApp Business app before a broader rollout to businesses on the WhatsApp Business Platform.
Mark Zuckerberg, Meta’s founder and CEO, highlighted India’s pioneering role in WhatsApp’s innovations, citing the country’s strong embrace of messaging for various purposes. With over 500 million users, India remains one of WhatsApp’s largest markets.
