Facebook-owned platform WhatsApp has appointed Manesh Mahatme to lead the growth of its payments business in India.
As Director, WhatsApp Payments - India, Mahatme will work towards contributing to WhatsApp’s vision of digital and financial inclusion in India, said a statement issued by WhatsApp.
Mahatme brings with him 17 years of experience in digital financial services and payments across Citibank, Airtel Money and Amazon.
He joins WhatsApp from Amazon, where he spent close to seven years as Director and board member of Amazon Pay India and led product, engineering, and growth teams.
Mahatme graduated from BITS, Pilani (Electronics Engineering) and from SP Jain, Mumbai (Management)
“We are excited to have Manesh join our WhatsApp India team. Manesh has been one of key innovators driving the growth of digital payments in India over the last decade, and his experience will help us maximise the impact and scale of payments on WhatsApp. WhatsApp has immense potential to digitally empower people across segments and help accelerate the Government of India’s efforts to drive financial inclusion through UPI and digital payments,” said Abhijit Bose, Head of WhatsApp in India.
Mahatme said payments on WhatsApp is uniquely placed to be a significant partner in the country’s growth agenda by making digital payments accessible to users across the length and breadth of India. “I am super excited to be a part of this growth story.”
The company’s goal remains to offer payments as an added convenience to the users, and enable them to seamlessly send and receive money, the statement added.