WhatsApp has started rolling out bill payments in India, allowing users to pay household and utility bills directly through the messaging app as the Meta-owned platform expands its payments offering in the country.
The new feature is powered by the Bharat Connect network, formerly known as the Bharat Bill Payment System (BBPS), and provides access to 22,722 billers across 30 categories. These include electricity, gas, water, FASTag, insurance premiums, credit card bills and loan repayments.
Users can access Bill Payments through the rupee icon on the WhatsApp home screen. From there, they can select a bill category and service provider, enter the required account details, review the bill fetched through the system and complete the transaction using UPI, debit card or credit card.
The feature also brings bill management functions into WhatsApp. Users can view past payments and upcoming bills, while previously used billers can appear on the Payments Home section for quicker access. Multiple accounts with the same service provider can also be managed within the app, allowing users to organise payments for locations such as their home or office.
Meta said the feature is being introduced gradually across India and is expected to become available to all Android and iOS users over the coming weeks.
The rollout expands WhatsApp's existing payments capabilities in India. The platform already supports UPI-based transactions and has been adding services that allow users to carry out more transactions without moving to another application. These include mobile recharges, metro ticketing in select cities and access to some citizen services through chat-based interfaces.
Arun Srinivas, Managing Director and Country Head at Meta India, said the company wants to make routine household payments simpler for users and reduce the need to switch between different applications to manage bills and payment services.
Bharat Connect provides interoperable infrastructure connecting consumers, billers and payment platforms across India. By integrating the network into WhatsApp, the messaging platform can offer bill discovery and payment services while the underlying system handles bill presentment, routing and settlement.
The integration also puts WhatsApp alongside digital payment platforms that already offer Bharat Connect-powered bill payment services. For WhatsApp, however, the addition places recurring financial transactions inside an app that consumers already use for messaging, business interactions and payments.
The Bill Payments rollout marks another expansion of WhatsApp's financial services in India, as the company looks to bring payments and other everyday digital services into its existing messaging interface.
Disclaimer: This article may include information derived from interviews, press releases, public statements, research, company communications and other publicly available or third-party sources. Such material may be summarised, paraphrased or contextualised for journalistic and editorial purposes. All rights in third-party content remain with their respective owners.