Stripe, a United States-based financial infrastructure platform for businesses, has on Monday announced a partnership with messaging service WhatsApp, that allows Singapore businesses to accept payments directly in WhatsApp chats.
The new feature is built on Stripe Connect and Stripe Checkout, and enables Singapore customers and businesses to buy and sell directly in WhatsApp without having to go to a website, open another app, or pay in person, Stripe said in a statement.
According to the statement, supported payment methods include credit and debit cards, and PayNow, a real-time payment system popular in Singapore.
“Starting today, people in Singapore can pay their local merchants on WhatsApp in just a few taps,
“This seamless and secure experience will transform the way people and businesses in Singapore connect on WhatsApp,” said Stephane Kasriel, head of FinTech at Meta, owner of WhatsApp.
The option to enable payments on WhatsApp in Singapore is available to local businesses using the WhatsApp Business Platform, which will include a Stripe account.
The feature is currently available to a small number of Singapore-based businesses, and will be available to many more in the coming months.
“Most people I know in Singapore use WhatsApp to chat with each other. Now, they can pay local businesses using the app as well,
“The speed and convenience of payments through WhatsApp will help businesses expand their revenue streams with new channels and access a wider customer base,” said Sarita Singh, regional head and managing director for Southeast Asia at Stripe.
Stripe is a San Francisco-based company that provides digital infrastructure services to digital businesses.
Since it launched in 2010, Stripe has been improving its payments online.
Today, Stripe features more than 100 optimizations that enhance every aspect of the checkout experience, including pre-built payment UIs and more than 40 payment methods.
Singapore businesses that accept payments with WhatsApp chat also gain access to the Stripe Dashboard, a tool for managing all of their Stripe data in one place.
WhatsApp service was created by WhatsApp Inc. of Mountain View, California, which was acquired by Facebook in February 2014.
More than 2 billion people in over 180 countries use WhatsApp to stay in touch with friends and family.