NEW DELHI: Messaging giant WhatsApp plans to launch its first payment service this year in India, its biggest market with 400 million users, the company said Friday.
The Facebook-owned firm has tested the service with about one million people over the past year. But a commercial launch has been on hold while it waits for approval from India’s banking regulator.
“WhatsApp Payments will make it as easy to pay someone on WhatsApp as it is to send a message,” the company’s global head Will Cathcart said in a statement.
“We can’t wait to provide this service to our users across India this year,” he added.
India would be the first country to get WhatsApp payments, but Cathcart did not say whether the authorities have given final approval.
He said such services were critical to accelerating financial inclusion in India and bringing millions more into the country’s fast-growing digital economy.
India is one of the world’s quickest-growing major economies, with tens of millions already using online transactions.
Once launched, WhatsApp will compete with local digital payment firms Paytm and Phonepe and global behemoths like Amazon Pay and Google Pay.
WhatsApp, which has an estimated 1.5 billion users around the world, has been roiled in controversy in India over data storage and privacy.
India has insisted that technology companies store data on Indians in the country, something WhatsApp has resisted so far for its messaging platform.
The Reserve Bank of India, that regulates the country’s financial system, has also made it mandatory to store payment-related data in India.
WhatsApp has insisted that its payment services in India will comply with the central bank norms.
WhatsApp to launch digital payments service in India
WhatsApp to launch digital payments service in India
- “WhatsApp Payments will make it as easy to pay someone on WhatsApp as it is to send a message”
First EU–Saudi roundtable on critical raw materials reflects shared policy commitment
RIYADH: The EU–Saudi Arabia Business and Investment Dialogue on Advancing Critical Raw Materials Value Chains, held in Riyadh as part of the Future Minerals Forum, brought together senior policymakers, industry leaders, and investors to advance strategic cooperation across critical raw materials value chains.
Organized under a Team Europe approach by the EU–GCC Cooperation on Green Transition Project, in coordination with the EU Delegation to Saudi Arabia, the European Chamber of Commerce in the Kingdom and in close cooperation with FMF, the dialogue provided a high-level platform to explore European actions under the EU Critical Raw Materials Act and ResourceEU alongside the Kingdom’s aspirations for minerals, industrial, and investment priorities.
This is in line with Saudi Vision 2030 and broader regional ambitions across the GCC, MENA, and Africa.
ResourceEU is the EU’s new strategic action plan, launched in late 2025, to secure a reliable supply of critical raw materials like lithium, rare earths, and cobalt, reducing dependency on single suppliers, such as China, by boosting domestic extraction, processing, recycling, stockpiling, and strategic partnerships with resource-rich nations.
The first ever EU–Saudi roundtable on critical raw materials was opened by the bloc’s Ambassador to the Kingdom, Christophe Farnaud, together with Saudi Deputy Minister for Mining Development Turki Al-Babtain, turning policy alignment into concrete cooperation.
Farnaud underlined the central role of international cooperation in the implementation of the EU’s critical raw materials policy framework.
“As the European Union advances the implementation of its Critical Raw Materials policy, international cooperation is indispensable to building secure, diversified, and sustainable value chains. Saudi Arabia is a key partner in this effort. This dialogue reflects our shared commitment to translate policy alignment into concrete business and investment cooperation that supports the green and digital transitions,” said the ambassador.
Discussions focused on strengthening resilient, diversified, and responsible CRM supply chains that are essential to the green and digital transitions.
Participants explored concrete opportunities for EU–Saudi cooperation across the full value chain, including exploration, mining, and processing and refining, as well as recycling, downstream manufacturing, and the mobilization of private investment and sustainable finance, underpinned by high environmental, social, and governance standards.
From the Saudi side, the dialogue was framed as a key contribution to the Kingdom’s industrial transformation and long-term economic diversification agenda under Vision 2030, with a strong focus on responsible resource development and global market integration.
“Developing globally competitive mineral hubs and sustainable value chains is a central pillar of Saudi Vision 2030 and the Kingdom’s industrial transformation. Our engagement with the European Union through this dialogue to strengthen upstream and downstream integration, attract high-quality investment, and advance responsible mining and processing. Enhanced cooperation with the EU, capitalizing on the demand dynamics of the EU Critical Raw Materials Act, will be key to delivering long-term value for both sides,” said Al-Babtain.
Valere Moutarlier, deputy director-general for European industry decarbonization, and directorate-general for the internal market, industry, entrepreneurship and SMEs at European Commission, said the EU Critical Raw Materials Act and ResourceEU provided a clear framework to strengthen Europe’s resilience while deepening its cooperation with international partners.
“Cooperation with Saudi Arabia is essential to advancing secure, sustainable, and diversified critical raw materials value chains. Dialogues such as this play a key role in translating policy ambitions into concrete industrial and investment cooperation,” she added.
