Latest News | Business Briefs 6 WhatsApp Pay Adds 'Backgrounds' for Livelier User Experience

New Delhi, Aug 17 (PTI) WhatsApp on Tuesday said its users in India will now be able to add Payments Backgrounds while sending money to friends and family through the messaging platform.

"Built for India, this new feature is relevant, exciting and memorable, as it helps people easily convey a feeling along with sending money," according to a statement. Designed in partnership with the National Payments Corporation of India, on the Unified Payment Interface, the payments feature on WhatsApp is an India-first, real-time payment system that enables transactions with over 227 banks, it added.

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"WhatsApp is a safe space where people share their thoughts and feelings with their friends and family. With Payments Backgrounds, our effort is to bring excitement to everyday payments through WhatsApp... We look forward to creating more features and functionalities and continue making payments on WhatsApp an interesting and interactive experience," WhatsApp Payments Director Manesh Mahatme said.

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* 1K Kirana Bazaar raises $7mn from Info Edge Ventures, Partners of Falcon Edge

* 1K Kirana Bazaar (1K), an offline-to-online neighbourhood store (kirana) network, on Tuesday said it has raised USD 7 million (about Rs 52 crore) in funding, co-led by Info Edge Ventures and Partners of Falcon Edge.

The series-A round also saw participation from existing ,investor Kae Capital, a statement said. Other investors include Blackbuck founders Rajesh Yabaji and Chanakya Hridaya and Hari TN from BigBasket, it added.

The company, which had raised around USD 1.5 million in previous rounds from Kae Capital and 1Crowd, was founded in 2018 by Kumar Sangeetesh, Sachin Sharma and Abhishek Halder.

"With these funds, our efforts are to bring parity to products and experiences to meet the rising standards of living among Bharat's new consumers. With our super-fast but organic growth, we are confident that we will be able to expand to more markets in northern India and bring about a positive change in the lives of millions of consumers," Sangeetesh said. PTI SR

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* AIGF appoints PK Misra as President of Players' Association

* The All India Gaming Federation (AIGF), online skill gaming industry representative body, on Tuesday said it has appointed former senior bureaucrat P K Misra as president of the Players' Association (AIGF Advisory).

The Players' Association will work closely with AIGF's member stakeholders and governing council to monitor education, awareness, protection and grievance redressal of the online skill gaming community, a statement said.

Misra, who was part of 1976 batch of Uttar Pradesh Indian Administrative Services (IAS), has held key positions in Indian bureaucracy, including that of steel secretary and secretary of the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT). He was also joint secretary in the Ministry of Defence and additional secretary and financial adviser to the home ministry.

"Misra has now agreed to spearhead the initiatives of the Players' Association at AIGF as part of AIGF Advisory, providing his guidance and bringing to the table his decades of experience and a keen understanding of the industry, the AIGF, and its self-regulatory perspectives," the statement said. HRS hrs

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)