WhatsApp Business has emerged as a cornerstone of India’s digital economy, with adoption soaring among enterprises, startups, and micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs).
Active business users jumped from 10 million in 2022 to over 15 million by the end of 2024, underlining the app’s growing importance as a digital storefront.
Daily interactions now hover around 175 million, showcasing how deeply businesses and consumers are integrating WhatsApp into commerce, payments, and customer engagement.
MSMEs — India’s economic backbone contributing nearly 30% to GDP and employing over 110 million people — are the fastest-growing user base on WhatsApp Business. They rely on the platform to streamline order management, digital payments, and customer service.
Sandhya Devanathan, VP & Head of India & SE Asia at Meta, emphasized:
“The journey has been about listening to what users and businesses want. A Kantar survey published recently showed that 91% of online adults in India talk to a business on WhatsApp, so the trend is strong. We’ve taken those insights to build rich, localised experiences.”
WhatsApp is evolving beyond business into governance and institutional services. Devanathan noted:
“Metro ticketing, for instance. What started as a pilot project in Bengaluru a few years ago is now expanding to other states. They're now at nearly 7 million tickets sold every month — and a run rate of 100 million annually. WhatsApp launched Mana Mitra with the Andhra government, offering 700 citizen services through a WhatsApp chatbot. Four million people have already begun using it. And before the 12th standard board exams last year, 91% of hall tickets were distributed on WhatsApp.”
These developments highlight how WhatsApp is embedding itself in everyday public services, further deepening user trust and reliance.
While WhatsApp Pay has seen progress, especially after the lifting of the 100 million user cap in December 2024, challenges remain. Monthly UPI transactions doubled to 61 million by January 2025, but its share of UPI volumes is still below 0.4%, far behind PhonePe and Google Pay, which together command more than 85% of the market.
This indicates that despite WhatsApp’s massive user base, payments adoption lags, requiring more aggressive partnerships, merchant incentives, and seamless integrations.
Even as adoption rises, WhatsApp Business is grappling with structural limitations that hinder scalability for larger organizations:
Broadcast messaging limits: Currently capped at 256 contacts per list.
Restricted multi-agent workflows: Difficult for large enterprises with multiple customer support teams.
Limited native automation: Businesses must rely on third-party integrations.
Data storage concerns: Cloud storage outside India raises compliance challenges under the Digital Personal Data Protection Act (DPDP Act) — particularly for regulated industries like finance and healthcare.
These challenges are becoming pressing as competitors such as Telegram, Gupshup, and Zoho’s newly launched Arattai ramp up their enterprise offerings.
Meta is actively working on addressing these gaps by:
Enhancing API-based automation for enterprises.
Exploring localized storage to align with data protection rules.
Expanding WhatsApp Pay through merchant adoption drives.
Collaborating with governments and public service providers to broaden citizen engagement.
However, analysts caution that time is critical, and WhatsApp must accelerate innovation to safeguard its leadership in India’s competitive business messaging market.
WhatsApp Business has become an essential digital platform for MSMEs, enterprises, and even governments in India, with adoption levels showing remarkable growth. From handling 175 million daily interactions to enabling 7 million metro tickets monthly, the platform is reshaping how Indians transact and communicate. Yet, technical limitations, compliance issues, and intense competition could restrict its next phase of growth. Unless WhatsApp resolves these bottlenecks, its dominance may come under pressure from rivals innovating faster in the enterprise messaging space.