Get All Access for $5/mo

WhatsApp Pay India Head Quits After Four Months Of Taking Charge Joining the exit bandwagon, Vinay Choletti's announcement leaves WhatsApp Pay India without a guiding force

By Paromita Gupta

You're reading Entrepreneur India, an international franchise of Entrepreneur Media.

Entrepreneur India

On Wednesday, Vinay Choletti, WhatsApp head for payments division in India, took to Linkedin to announce his departure from the instant messaging giant.

Calling WhatsApp a critical lifeline for India, Choletti shared how he was humbled to see WhatsApp Pay be adopted by customers for novel use cases and that these will be the badges he'll proudly wear in his lifetime.

An alumnus of IIM, Ahmedabad, Choletti joined WhatsApp in October 2021 as head of merchant payments, exiting Amazon after over seven years of association as head of SMB payments at its payment division. On November 1, WhatsApp rolled out a new feature which lets Bangalore citizens buy Namma Metro tickets at a 5 per cent discount on base ticket fare by simply messaging a 'hi' to +91 81055 56677.

The feature lets travelers skip long metro lines, allowing them to purchase transit tickets for one-way, recharge metro passes, view schedule, and check updated fares. The chatbot also allows you to cancel your ticket.

Choletti took over the reins from Manesh Mahatme, who left the Meta-owned application to join former employer Amazon India as a full-time director of product and engineering.

Choletti and Mahatme's exit comes at a crucial time for WhatsApp Pay, which won the mandate to extend its user base from 40 million to 100 million in April 2022.

His exit comes at the time when India is facing a mass-exodus of top-executives. WhatsApp is yet to release a official statement on his exit.

Paromita Gupta

Entrepreneur Staff

Features Writer with Entrepreneur India

Covering news and trends in AI and Metaverse segments. An avid book reader running her personal blog on the side. You may reach me at paromita@entrepreneurindia.com. 
Side Hustle

'Hustling Every Day': These Friends Started a Side Hustle With $2,500 Each — It 'Snowballed' to Over $500,000 and Became a Multimillion-Dollar Brand

Paris Emily Nicholson and Saskia Teje Jenkins had a 2020 brainstorm session that led to a lucrative business.

Leadership

How to Master the Art of Delegation — Lessons From Andrew Carnegie's Legacy

Here's what Andrew Carnegie can teach today's entrepreneurs about leadership, teamwork and effective delegation.

News and Trends

Digital Fear: How Stock Trading Scams, Investment Frauds, Digital Arrest and Threats From Foreign Lands are Crippling

Since 2021, CFCFRMS has recorded a staggering 30.05 lakh complaints, resulting in losses of INR 27,914 crore

Business News

'I'm Not Trying to Land on Mars': Mark Cuban Takes Dig at Elon Musk to Explain Why His Online Pharmacy Isn't Trying to Make More Money

Mark Cuban Cost Plus Drug Co. is an online pharmacy co-founded by Cuban and radiologist Alex Oshmyansky.

News and Trends

Talent, Digital Infra, Policy, and Startups Driving India's GCC Ecosystem

By leveraging its demographic dividend and evolving policies, India is uniquely positioned to become the preferred choice for global enterprises seeking scalability, resilience, and a future-ready operational base.

News and Trends

India Moves Towards AI Regulation: IT Minister Highlights Need for Balanced Approach

Union Minister for Electronics and Information Technology, Ashwini Vaishnaw, emphasized the importance of addressing fake news while upholding freedom of speech