NEW DELHI: WhatsApp is working with financial services and telecom partners to make everyday tasks such as paying bills, borrowing money and staying connected while travelling as simple as sending a message, Kunal Shah, head of WhatsApp, said in a post on X.
Reflecting on his nearly four months at WhatsApp, Shah said the platform would focus on helping users stay connected with people who matter to them while enabling them to complete more everyday tasks within the app.
He said many activities that begin in a WhatsApp conversation currently require users to move to other platforms or applications to complete them. The company wants to reduce these steps through partnerships with financial services and telecom providers.
“Too many things start in a chat and end with many more steps somewhere else: paying a bill, borrowing money, staying connected when you travel. Each handoff to another task costs time. We’re working with financial services and telecom partners so that finishing something feels as easy as starting it,” Shah said.
I am nearly 4+ Months In WhatsApp
I think of WhatsApp like a shared language, spoken by 3bn+ people. Sometimes we use words, and sometimes it’s a voice note to a parent, a sticker that ends an argument, or a “that was a fun dinner” at the end of the night. Language is at the heart of everything we as people do. We write letters, tell stories, get things done and make plans for the future. A WhatsApp chat is often where we start.
Like any language, the people who use it shape it. They don’t wait for permission. They find new things to say, and new ways to say them. Often, our users show us what should come next based on how they’re using the app and communicating in the world.
I’ve spent the last few months listening and understanding what our users want from us and what I heard is simple: help people stay close to those who matter to them, and get more done on WhatsApp. So that’s what we’ll build.
First, we want to make connections richer.
Sometimes hearing someone’s voice, sending a joke, agreeing on a plan or knowing they’re safe is the whole point. People send over 10 billion voice messages and over 4 billion stickers on WhatsApp every day. As the way people communicate evolves, we will evolve these experiences with them. We’ll make voice notes, groups, stickers and video simpler and more expressive, because how people feel close keeps changing.
Second, we want anything you do on WhatsApp to be as simple as sending a message. Too many things start in a chat and end with many more steps somewhere else: paying a bill, borrowing money, staying connected when you travel. Each handoff to another task costs time. We’re working with financial services and telecom partners so that finishing something feels as easy as starting it.
Third, we want to make this all more efficient with AI. It should quietly find what you need, get things done and make sure you never miss a booking or an appointment. The best technology saves you time, so you can get back to the connections that matter.
None of this works without trust. WhatsApp handles over 100 billion messages and 2 billion calls every day. Trust takes years to earn and a moment to lose, and I don’t take that lightly. Whatever we build, WhatsApp must remain simple, reliable and private. These principles we’ve had for years aren’t changing. Your personal messages and calls stay end-to-end encrypted. This and our quality bar stays the same.
What happens inside WhatsApp only matters for what it makes possible outside it: more time together, stronger communities, and fewer barriers between people and the lives they want to live.Onwards.
— Kunal Shah (@kunalb11) November 10, 2026
The company also plans to use artificial intelligence (AI) to help users find information, complete tasks and keep track of bookings and appointments, making the platform more useful beyond messaging. “It should quietly find what you need, get things done and make sure you never miss a booking or an appointment,” Shah said, adding that technology should save users time so they can focus on their personal connections.
Alongside these additions, WhatsApp will continue improving its communication features, including voice notes, groups, stickers and video, to make interactions more expressive.
Shah said users send more than 10 billion voice messages and over 4 billion stickers on WhatsApp every day. The platform handles more than 100 billion messages and 2 billion calls daily, while connecting over 3 billion people worldwide.
Describing WhatsApp as a shared language shaped by its users, Shah said the company would continue evolving its services based on how people communicate and what they need from the platform. He stressed that the expansion into additional services would not compromise user privacy. Personal messages and calls will continue to remain end-to-end encrypted, he said.
“Trust takes years to earn and a moment to lose, and I don’t take that lightly,” Shah said, reiterating that simplicity, reliability and privacy would remain central to the platform as it develops new capabilities. (ANI)
