Meta bets on WhatsApp biz messaging as it is learning to tap potential of tier 2, 3 cities

NEW DELHI: Business messaging and WhatsApp are the next engine of growth and key priority for Meta in India, its top executive said exuding confidence that the company is "just getting started" given the "immense headroom" here, as more businesses digitise and transform.

Businesses across the board are innovating and using WhatsApp to reach new audiences with sectors such as banking, e-commerce, gaming and small businesses taking the lead, Sandhya Devanathan, Vice President, Meta India, said.

Businesses all across are innovating right from bill payment to sale of metro tickets, or banks sending statement balances, she said citing instances of how companies are embracing WhatsApp. "...honestly I think we're just scratching the surface, if we think about the headroom...I see WhatsApp as next engine of growth for our company here in India, so absolutely business messaging and WhatsApp are a key priority for India Meta organisation," Devanathan said. WhatsApp monetisation in India is a "key priority" for Meta globally, she added.

As per the last published numbers, Facebook has 440 million users in India, and Devanathan says that Meta has, since then, grown across its family of apps. As many as 200 million businesses are on WhatsApp globally, using the WhatsApp Business app. "We do not breakdown the India number, but it is a pretty good number, it is a huge number in India," she said.

"The reason why it (WhatsApp monetisation) is a priority is because we see that headroom, we are just getting started...everything from bill payments now with NPCI to buying metro train tickets, I think Chennai is already live and we'll have a few more getting added on...to banks sending statement balances," she said asserting that Meta is seeing wave of innovation across verticals and sectors.

There is an immense potential as more than more companies here digitise and transform.

"...Because the headroom is not going to come only from the marketing side. It is going to come from customer service, re-engagement, how they talk to their customers through entire journey like notifications or orders and things like that. So I'm excited about what you see there," she said. "We're learning from that on how do we actually work with Tier 2, Tier 3 cities in India. Also, think about the other headroom -- 400 million people end up shopping online in 2025, their first order of preference is not going to be to download an app...their first form factor they're going to be exposed to or gravitate towards is probably a messaging app and probably WhatsApp," Devanathan said.

The popular messaging platform recently announced the expansion of its payments service in India to make it easier for people transacting with businesses to pay for purchases directly in the chat, with a choice of UPI apps, including rival digital payment options, as well as credit and debit cards.