Paytm Is Working On A Messaging App To Challenge Whatsapp, Expected To Launch By End Of Month
The digital payment platform is looking to capitalise on its large userbase here in India.
If reports are to be believed, India¡¯s top instant messaging client WhatsApp is about to have some more competition.
Yes, another way for you to receive annoying 'Good Morning' messages from the family
According to Reuters, digital payments service Paytm is planning to launch an instant messaging app of its own by the end of August, to compete with Facebook¡¯s WhatsApp, an internal source said.
Paytm, backed by Japan¡¯s SoftBank and China¡¯s Alibaba, is looking to attract more customers to its digital payments platform by embedding a messaging client within the same app. That way, when people may be on the brink of downloading the app to pay for their online shopping, groceries, and Ubers, adding messaging capability will make the decision a no brainer.
According to the report, Paytm¡¯s messaging service will also let users send sound files, videos, and pictures. ¡°Paytm wants to become a digital universe for Indian commerce where consumers can communicate, shop and use financial services,¡± Pavel Naiya, an analyst at tech research firm Counterpoint, said.
Paytm has more than 225 million users in India, compared to WhatsApp¡¯s, 200 million monthly active users in the country. Seeing as it¡¯s the app's biggest market, WhatsApp has also been looking at enter the digital payments space in India, a move that messaging app Hike already made earlier this year.
