CONNECT WITH US
Funding Tracker

Funding Tracker

Kunal Shah sets three priorities for WhatsApp, but spam and payments remain key challenges

Entrackr logo

Published on

Add as a preferred source on Google
Kunal Shah sets three priorities for WhatsApp, but spam and payments remain key challenges

WhatsApp is looking to expand beyond messaging and make its platform more useful for everyday activities, including bill payments, financial services and bookings. The Meta-owned platform's global head Kunal Shah has outlined three priorities for the app: richer communication, simpler services and artificial intelligence (AI).

In a post on X, Shah said the company wanted to help users stay connected with people who matter to them while allowing them to get more things done through WhatsApp.

The first priority is to improve communication features such as voice notes, groups, stickers and video. Shah said users send over 10 billion voice messages and more than 4 billion stickers on WhatsApp every day. The company wants to make these experiences simpler and more expressive.

The second focus is to make everyday activities as simple as sending a message. Shah cited activities such as paying bills, borrowing money and staying connected while travelling, which often require users to switch between multiple platforms. WhatsApp is working with financial services and telecom partners to simplify these processes.

However, the payments opportunity comes with its own challenges. Despite its large user base and the rollout of UPI payments, WhatsApp Pay has struggled to gain traction in India. It accounted for just 0.8% of UPI transaction volume in September 2026, far behind PhonePe and Google Pay, which together controlled nearly 78% of the market. 

WhatsApp also faces a more immediate problem: spam, particularly from business accounts. Shah's post drew criticism from users on X, who questioned the company's focus on new services and AI while unwanted promotional messages continued to flood their inboxes.


Source link
Related Topics:Funding Tracker

Disclaimer

We strive to uphold the highest ethical standards in all of our reporting and coverage. We TheMorningPulse.fyi want to be transparent with our readers about any potential conflicts of interest that may arise in our work. It's possible that some of the investors we feature may have connections to other businesses, including competitors or companies we write about. However, we want to assure our readers that this will not have any impact on the integrity or impartiality of our reporting. We are committed to delivering accurate, unbiased news and information to our audience, and we will continue to uphold our ethics and principles in all of our work. Thank you for your trust and support.