Meta-owned messaging platform WhatsApp is dangling cash back rewards for peer-to-peer (P2P) payments to attract more Indian users to the app, Reuters reported on Wednesday (April 27), citing unnamed sources with insider information.
The company is also planning a cash back rewards pilot program with merchants, the sources told Reuters. The move will position WhatsApp to better compete with Google and other rivals in the same tech space.
WhatsApp was just green-lighted by regulators in India to more than double its payments offering to its 100 million users in India, per the report. India is WhatsApp’s largest customer base, with over a half-billion users.
See also: WhatsApp Developing Subscription Plan for Business App
WhatsApp enables users to send money to one another within the app. The company is anticipated to launch the cash back program no later than May 31. It will offer users up to 33 Indian rupees ($0.40) for money transfers made on its service, the sources told Reuters.
The cash back reward will be added across three transactions regardless of the amount being transferred — even if it’s just 1 rupee, one source told the news outlet, who called the move WhatsApp’s “user acquisition drive.”
While the reward is small, Neil Shah, vice president of research at Counterpoint Research, told Reuters it’s enough to compel users to switch.
“You won’t leave money on the table as an Indian,” Shah said.
WhatsApp told Reuters in a statement that it’s “running a campaign offering cash back incentives in a phased manner to our users as a way to unlock the potential of payments on WhatsApp.”
Read more: Digital Consumers Demand Digital Incentives From Retailers
WhatsApp is also piloting a program offering cash back rewards to people who use the app to pay their highway tolls and other bills, two of the sources told Reuters. The company also is looking to trial a similar incentive program with Reliance Jio, India’s biggest telecom operator, the sources said.
India-based Reliance is a partner of WhatsApp. Meta, WhatsApp’s parent, has a 9.99% stake in Reliance after investing $5.7 billion in the firm two years ago.
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