New Delhi: Manesh Mahatme, the head of WhatsApp’s payment business in India, has quit the company and is joining Amazon India, news agency Reuters reported citing a source.
Mahatme has joined as director of product in the e-commerce division of Amazon in India, the source said.
According to his LinkedIn profile, Mahatme joined WhatsApp Pay in April 2021 after serving as a director. He was also on the board of Amazon Pay India between 2014 and 2021.
In Amazon, he led a team of senior product, engineering, business development, and sales leaders in developing the company’s payment experience both on and off Amazon.
Instant messaging app, Whatsapp, is owned by Meta. Its payment service was first launched in November 2020 in India.
Previously, speaking about the challenge to establish WhatsApp in a segment that is dominated by players like Paytm and Google Pay, Mahatme had said “We have a long-term view of India. It is still early days for digital payments in the country. We look forward to contributing meaningfully to adding new users to India’s digital payments ecosystem, as well as serving existing users who are already well engaged on WhatsApp.”
“The next tranche of digital products needs to be more accessible and inclusive. We believe that’s where payments on WhatsApp can make a significant positive impact,” Mahatme added.
