Facebook Fuel for India 2020: WhatsApp to launch insurance and pension products in India by year-end

WhatsApp is aiming to launch health insurance and micro-pension products on its messaging platform in India through tie-ups with licensed financial services players. This was announced at the Day 2 of Facebook's first edition of Fuel for India event. The two-day event kicked off on 15 December and was concluded on 16 December. The move for insurance and pension products comes as the Facebook-owned messaging platform is set to expand its services to finance, commerce, education and social welfare in 2021.In the first phase of the launch, the instant messaging platform is set to partner with SBI General to launch a sachet-health insurance cover and HDFC Pension to make available National Pension Scheme (NPS) products on its app.[caption id="attachment_8878551" align="alignnone" width="640"] Representational image. Reuters[/caption]“WhatsApp has proactively been working on several pilots to help ensure that every adult has access to the most basic critical financial and livelihood services through their mobile device. By the end of this year, we expect that people will be able to buy affordable sachet sized health insurance through WhatsApp,” said Abhijit Bose, WhatsApp India Head at the Facebook Fuel for India 2020 event.“The ability for people to get insurance covers life and health can protect the financial security of households from unforeseen expenses especially during the pandemic,” he added.(Also read: WhatsApp partners with SBI, ICICI, Axis and HDFC Bank for its payment service in India)WhatsApp has over 400 million MAU or monthly active users in India. Last month, WhatsApp rolled out its payments services in India after receiving approval from the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI). In India, it competes with players like Paytm, Google Pay, Walmart-owned PhonePe and Amazon Pay.