WhatsApp Ropes In Amazon Payments Veteran For Indian Payments Business: Reuters

Facebook Inc FB-owned WhatsApp has hired Amazon.Com Inc AMZN executive Manesh Mahatme to head its payments business in India, Reuters reports.

• Mahatme had previously represented Amazon Pay for nearly seven years.
• WhatsApp is the latest entrant in India’s digital payments sector, valued at $135 billion by 2023 by PwC and Indian industry body ASSOCHAM.
• Last year, WhatsApp received a much-delayed approval for the launch of its payments system in India. Regulators have capped the platform’s rollout at 20 million users.
• Facebook’s potential investment of $5.7 billion in Indian business magnate Mukesh Ambani’s Jio Platforms digital unit would enable WhatsApp to tap millions of mom-and-pop stores.
• Amazon Pay had been rapidly growing its online bill payments and also served as a digital wallet-service as per Amazon’s India website.
• Mahatme oversaw a team of senior product, engineering, and business development leaders at Amazon Pay, as per LinkedIn.
• WhatsApp also intended to expand its bank partnerships to offer financial services like pensions and insurance, as per India’s head and payments industry veteran Abhijit Bose.
• Price action: FB shares traded higher by 0.84% $280.95 in the premarket session on the last check Friday.