India is set to become the first country to benefit from WhatsApp's digital payment service, which is expected to launch this year.
The messaging giant has been testing the service with about one million people over the past year, but a commercial launch has been on hold while it waits for approval from India's banking regulator.
"We can't wait to provide this service to our users across India this year," said Will Cathcart, WhatsApp's global head, in a statement.
Once launched, WhatsApp will compete with local digital payment firms Paytm and Phonepe, as well as global behemoths like Amazon Pay and Google Pay.
India is one of the world's quickest-growing major economies, with tens of millions already using online transactions.
