The well-known messaging app Whatsapp has stated that it shares only limited data of payment service with its owner firm Facebook and the parent company does not utilize the data for the commercial purpose.
The messaging app has been lately working on its payment feature had to postpone the launch due to the ongoing Facebook data scam. Whatsapp payments service has partnered with UPI to launch an in-app payment service on its platform and, at present, is in beta version in India. Its users are concerned how much of their information is being shared with Facebook and how is the social media using it. This is the reason why WhatsApp has been compelled to put up an explanation in this regard.
On its official website, Whatsapp claimed, “Facebook does not use WhatsApp payment information for commercial purposes, it simply helps pass the necessary payment information to the bank partner and NPCI. In some cases, we may share limited data to help provide customer support to you or keep payments safe and secure.”
As per the sources, The Ministry of Electronics and IT has written to National Payment Corporation of India (NPCI) to justify the compliance around WhatsApp payment and inspect if WhatsApp is sharing users’ data with Facebook. The IT ministry is concerned about the safety and privacy of its users followed by the data leak scam.
Whatsapp also claimed that it does not save any crucial and sensitive payment information of the users such as one-time password send for the transaction verification, account number or debit card details.
Keeping in view the privacy of the users, Whatsapp which has a huge userbase in India said that when a user makes a payment, the mobile messaging app creates the necessary connection between the sender and recipient of the payment, using Facebook infrastructure.
The WhatsApp website stated that they pass the transaction information to the bank partner, which is called a PSP (payment service provider), and to NPCI so that they can smoothen the movement of funds between the bank accounts of sender and receiver.
“Facebook processes UPI (Unified Payments Interface) transaction data as a service provider for WhatsApp, and does not use WhatsApp payments transaction data for commercial purposes,” WhatsApp spokesperson said. “Today, almost 1 million people are testing WhatsApp payments in India. The feedback has been very positive. People enjoy the convenience of sending money as simply and securely as they send messages. We’re working closely with NPCI and multiple banks including our payment service providers to expand the feature to more people and support India’s digital economy,” he added.
Facebook is trying its best to mend its reputation which was affected by the data leak scandal and now, with all these things going on in the backdrop, it needs to try harder for it.