iWorld
WhatsApp Pay goes live in India
KOLKATA: In what could be a turnaround for India’s payments market, WhatsApp Pay has gone live today. WhatsApp’s parent company Facebook has been developing the payment feature for a while now, but regulatory hurdles were not easy to overcome.
The WhatsApp payment feature has been designed in partnership with the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) using the Unified Payment Interface (UPI). To carry out transactions via the messaging app in India, it’s necessary to have a bank account and debit card. WhatsApp sends instructions to banks that initiate the transfer of money via UPI between sender and receiver bank accounts. People can send money on WhatsApp to anyone using a UPI supported app.
The Indian digital payments market is already saturated with homegrown platform Paytm, big players like Google Pay, PhonePe, Amazon Pay, as well as a dozen other start-ups. But an enormous growing user base of 400 million, and a market value projected to reach $1 trillion in the next three years inspires confidence of having more than a fighting chance among new entrants like WhatsApp. Plus, the messaging app already enjoys immense popularity in the country, which also happens to be its largest market.
Starting today, people across India will be able to send money through WhatsApp This secure payments experience makes transferring money just as easy as sending a message. pic.twitter.com/bM1hMEB7sb
— WhatsApp Inc. (@WhatsApp) November 6, 2020
“In the long run, we believe the combination of WhatsApp and UPI’s unique architecture can help local organizations address some of the key challenges of our time, including increasing rural participation in the digital economy and delivering financial services to those who have never had access before,” the company stated in a blog post.
Just like every feature in WhatsApp, payments is designed with a strong set of security and privacy principles, including entering a personal UPI PIN for each payment, the app’s developers added. Payments on WhatsApp is now available for people on the latest version of the iPhone and Android app.
iWorld
Subedaar puts Indian original cinema on the global map with record-breaking Prime Video debut
MUMBAI: Prime Video has a runaway hit on its hands. Subedaar, the gritty action drama starring Anil Kapoor, has stormed to become the most-watched Indian original movie on the platform in its opening weekend, cracking the Top 10 across 31 countries and landing in 91 per cent of India’s pin codes within days of its March 5 premiere.
The film, a visceral, emotionally-charged story of a retired soldier, Subedaar Arjun Maurya, wrestling with civilian life amid crime and corruption, has struck a nerve. Directed by Suresh Triveni and co-starring Radhikka Madan, Mona Singh, Saurabh Shukla, Aditya Rawal, Faisal Malik, and Khushboo Sundar, the film is already being hailed as a showcase for what Indian original storytelling can achieve on the world stage.
“Subedaar’s success is a reflection of the growing scale and global resonance of Indian storytelling,” said Nikhil Madhok, director and head of originals at Prime Video India. “The film’s emotional narrative, its rooted portrayal of a soldier confronting his toughest battles beyond the battlefield, has struck a chord. Anil Kapoor delivers an acting masterclass, while Suresh Triveni’s solid direction and great performances from the ensemble cast have resulted in love and appreciation from customers across the world.”
Kapoor, 62, has been here before, but rarely at this altitude. Written by Triveni and Prajwal Chandrashekar, with dialogues by Triveni, Saurabh Dwivedi, and Chandrashekar, the film is a production by Opening Image Films in association with Anil Kapoor Film & Communication Network (AKFCN), produced by Vikram Malhotra, Kapoor, and Triveni.
Subedaar streams exclusively on Prime Video in Hindi, Tamil, and Telugu across India, and in over 240 countries and territories worldwide.
For Prime Video, the numbers tell the real story: one weekend, one film, a global footprint, and a very loud signal that Indian original cinema is no longer just travelling well. It’s arriving.
