WhatsApp Payments Reportedly Coming to Mexico, Brazil, UK Next

WhatsApp Payments will reportedly be coming next to Mexico, Brazil, and UK. The service was originally introduced in India last year in beta but is yet to roll out to all users in the country because of regulatory hurdles. Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg had indicated at expansion of WhatsApp Payments to more markets during the company's fourth quarter earnings call. He, however, did not share any specifics about which countries will be getting the feature next.

According to WABetaInfo, a prolific tipster of upcoming WhatsApp features, three countries – Brazil, Mexico, and UK – will be getting WhatsApp Payments next. The tipster did not share any information about when we can expect the feature to go live in these countries.

Even though we have heard about the expansion of WhatsApp Payments multiple times, there is no word on the implementation of WhatsApp Pay for other markets. The feature uses Unified Payments Interface (UPI) to enable payments in India, but it is an India-exclusive service, which can't be used in other markets. It is likely that WhatsApp Pay will be similar to Samsung Pay or Apple Pay implementations, where the payments will be routed through the credit or debit cards.

Separately, WABetaInfo is also reporting that WhatsApp has released a new beta version of its chat app for Android. The new version, which carries build number 2.19.74, adds in-app browser but it is not available just yet. When the feature is live, the links shared on the app will be opened in the in-app browser, similar to Twitter and Facebook apps.

WhatsApp's iPhone has also reportedly gotten a new update, but it doesn't bring any new features and primarily includes bug-fixes. The new beta carries building number 2.19.31.