Asma Bhaiyat
Chennai-based Asma Bhaiyat's day begins at 5 AM when the milkman rings the doorbell. Soon after, she hits the gym or goes for her morning walk. On her way back, she picks up the morning newspaper and calls her local grocery store to get items delivered. She comes home to her husband and their three-year-old daughter to prepare lunch for them before rushing to work. In the evening, she hires a cab to get back home. And then it's back to house chores. This is pretty much what a regular day looks like for Asma.
Throughout her day, Asma has to constantly make payments - to the milkman, grocer, gym, newspaper, the cab driver, and for general repairs. Holding a high-level executive position at work while also managing the house leaves her with little to no time to record expenses or even withdraw cash for her day-to-day activities. And now with the COVID-19 pandemic and lockdowns, visiting the ATMs has become near to impossible, making it difficult for her to physically pay friends or businesses.
She realized that everyone she had to pay had WhatsApp
Like many people, Asma decided to explore digital payments. She began by using a payment app to keep track of her accounts, but it wasn't seamless since only a few people used that particular app and she would sometimes make payments to the wrong person or vendor. That's when she started to use the payments feature on WhatsApp. She realized that everyone she had to pay had WhatsApp.
"I could easily pay everyone with just a phone number, without having to worry about different bank accounts. And not having to carry around exact change to pay for something was the icing on the cake," she says.
"It's convenient to send or request money from friends while conversing, without switching to another app. Moreover, it's simple; you get proof of transfer and it greatly reduces human to human contact and touchpoints in these times,” Asma adds, explaining that she has also started paying local businesses by scanning their UPI QR codes on WhatsApp*. "WhatsApp...saved a lot of my time, and time for me is money. I hit two birds with one stone - maintain social distancing and manage my personal finances efficiently.”
Caught up in day-to-day life and the pressure of budgeting her expenses, Asma was unable to spend quality time with her family. Using payments on WhatsApp has changed that. "With my payments sorted, I can incorporate some quality family time into my daily routine, be it spending a few minutes conversing with my husband during breakfast or playing with my daughter in the evenings," she says.
The ability to chat, pay and receive money, and keep track of transactions all at the same time, Asma says, is a one-stop solution any busy working mother would want.
*Note: The payments feature on WhatsApp is not yet available on the WhatsApp Business App.
