WhatsApp Payment Customers In India To Have 24-Hour Support

WhatsApp, the Facebook-owned messenger app, is gearing up to roll out 24-hour customer support for customers who use its upcoming payment services in India.

BRG, citing a WhatsApp spokesperson, reported the service is slated to go live in India in the coming weeks. The messenger app is popular in India with more than 200 million users, noted the report. According to BRG, users will get support via email or through a toll-free number. “We will provide 24-hour customer support. Payments users can contact the support team via email and a toll-free number (when the service is rolled out in India),” a WhatsApp spokesperson told PTI, according to BGR. The support will be accessible in English, Hindi, Marathi and Gujarati, noted the report.

The official at WhatsApp would not give an exact date for the launch of the expanded customer support service, nor would he provide more details.  WhatsApp hasn’t announced a date for its payment service that is based on UPI payment system, but the report noted that industry watchers expect an announcement soon. Currently close to one million people are part of a beta test of the payment service in India. It has been in beta test for the past few months, noted the report.

The spokesperson did say that WhatsApp has been working with the National Payments Corporation of India, bank partners and the government of India on how the service will work. It will not provide refunds or oversea chargebacks, meaning that once the user makes a payment, it is final. The updated terms also state: “WhatsApp is not liable for unauthorized transactions. We assume no responsibility for the underlying transaction of funds, or the actions or identity of any transfer recipient or sender,” noted the report. The spokesperson said customers would have to contact their banks to dispute any payments.