Kunal Shah lists his 3 priorities as WhatsApp head, and users flood his post with spam complaints
The CRED founder, now global head of WhatsApp, wants more chat features, payments and AI. Users say business spam is the real problem.
- WhatsApp users: 3 billion+
- WhatsApp Pay share of UPI (Sept): 0.8%
- PhonePe + Google Pay share: ~78%
The post
Kunal Shah, who founded CRED and became WhatsApp's global head about five months ago, set out his first three goals in a post on X. First, richer ways to talk, through voice notes, groups, stickers and video. Second, getting everyday tasks done inside chats, like paying bills, getting loans and international connectivity, with banks and telecom partners. Third, using AI to help people find information and manage tasks.
He promised that personal chats will stay end-to-end encrypted and said WhatsApp must remain simple, reliable and private.
The replies
Many users answered with a different wish list: stop the flood of promotional messages from businesses. A LocalCircles survey found 96% of WhatsApp users receive promotional or spam messages every day. Shah's challenge is that business messaging is also one of WhatsApp's main ways of making money.
The payments problem
WhatsApp has more than 3 billion users worldwide, and India is its biggest market. But WhatsApp Pay handled only 0.8% of UPI transactions in September, while PhonePe and Google Pay together held about 78%. Turning chats into a place where Indians pay bills and take loans will mean winning users from those apps.
