Small businesses in India and Brazil can now accept payments directly within WhatsApp, using QR codes to let customers pay instantly without leaving the app.
The payments feature was one of several updates WhatsApp highlighted at its second Business Summit in India, held in Mumbai.
It is designed to make sales faster and more seamless for small firms already using the WhatsApp Business app.
WhatsApp also introduced a new calling option that allows people to contact larger businesses directly from the app or receive calls they have requested.
This capability is available on the WhatsApp Business Platform in India and will later include voice messages and video calls.
Some businesses are also starting to experiment with AI support for handling customer queries over voice calls.
Marketing tools are being expanded through Ads Manager, which now lets businesses in India coordinate campaigns across WhatsApp, Facebook and Instagram using shared creative assets, setup flows and budgets.
Companies can upload their subscriber lists, manage campaigns manually or use Meta’s automated Advantage+ system to optimise budgets across platforms.
Discoverability is another focus. The Updates tab, used by 1.5 billion people globally each day, is gaining ads in Status, promoted channels and channel subscriptions to help brands reach more users.
Companies such as Maruti Suzuki, Air India and Flipkart are already testing these features, while channels like Jio Hotstar are using promoted channels.
These tools are being rolled out gradually in India and remain separate from users’ personal chats and inbox.
Another change allows small businesses to use both the WhatsApp Business App and the WhatsApp Business Platform simultaneously under the same phone number.
This gives them flexibility to automate high-volume customer interactions while maintaining day-to-day engagement on the app.
Government agencies in India are also expanding their use of WhatsApp for citizen services.
States such as Odisha, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu have partnered with WhatsApp to launch official chatbots.
Andhra Pradesh’s Mana Mitra chatbot, for instance, offers more than 700 services and has been accessed by 4 million citizens in multiple languages.
Featured image: Edited by Fintech News Singapore/Malaysia, based on image by Meta
