Paytm Inbox—that allowed users to not just send and request money, but also chat using the app—was inspired from China’s Tencent-backed WeChat to take on rivals such as WhatsApp and Hike.
While Paytm founder Vijay Shekhar Sharma confirmed that the chat function has been removed, he told BloombergQuint that the company plans to release it after upgrading the feature with social content.
When BloombergQuint checked the chat function within the native app, the instant messaging feature couldn’t be found. Paytm’s “Inbox”, which claimed 120 million monthly active users as of June, is now more of a news and entertainment vertical, and allows users to play games and stream live channels.