WhatsApp Pay overtakes CRED in June UPI transaction volumes

WhatsApp Pay processed 150.48 million UPI transactions in June, ahead of CRED’s 141.78 million. PhonePe, Google Pay and Paytm remained far larger by both transaction volume and value.

— Source publishedFri, 24 Jul, 2026, 20:26 IST·First seen Fri, 24 Jul, 2026, 20:38 IST·Source YourStory · Capital

What happened

WhatsApp Pay surpassed CRED in June UPI transaction volumes, processing 150.48 million transactions versus CRED’s 141.78 million. PhonePe, Google Pay and Paytm

Key facts

  • WhatsApp Pay: 150.48 million UPI transactions in June
  • CRED: 141.78 million UPI transactions in June
  • PhonePe: 10.48 billion transactions; Rs 14.2 lakh crore value
  • Google Pay: 7.41 billion transactions; Rs 9.7 lakh crore value
  • Paytm: 1.80 billion transactions; nearly Rs 1.9 lakh crore value
  • CRED: about Rs 55,100 crore value
  • WhatsApp Pay: around Rs 11,400 crore value

Why this matters

The crossover highlights WhatsApp’s value as a payments-distribution partner for merchants, banks and loyalty ecosystems seeking access to its large, high-frequency user base.

What to watch

  • Monthly UPI volume growth versus CRED, Paytm, Google Pay, and PhonePe over the next three to six months.
  • WhatsApp Pay's share of UPI transaction value, not just transaction count.
  • Evidence of merchant payment adoption through WhatsApp Business rather than predominantly P2P transfers.
  • Repeat-payment frequency per active user and growth in active WhatsApp Pay users.
  • New UPI incentives, credit-on-UPI features, autopay capabilities, or merchant product announcements from Meta.
  • Any regulatory changes affecting WhatsApp's UPI user expansion, data handling, or platform concentration.
  • Push UPI payment entry points into WhatsApp Business chats, catalogues, invoices, and customer-support flows.
  • Offer merchant onboarding, QR distribution, settlement tools, and lightweight payment analytics for small businesses.
  • Use payment confirmations and transaction history to create re-engagement loops for repeat commerce without overloading consumer chat UX.
  • Expand partnerships with banks and NPCI ecosystem participants to improve activation, reliability, and merchant acceptance.
  • Competitors are likely to counter with richer rewards, credit-linked UPI, merchant software, and higher-frequency utility use cases such as bills and transit.

Also reported by