As per the messaging app, this requirement is set by NPCI and designed to mitigate fraud across the UPI payments system.
Recently, Whatsapp has notified users that it will soon start laying out the legal name of the Users when they make a payment with WhatsApp pay. It is for identifying the real name of users. And prevent any kind of fraud in this payment gateway system. Many people sometimes use different nicknames on their UPI platforms, but with recent advancements in the privacy policy, Whatsapp wants to promote safe payments by revealing fraudulent practices that may be performed on the platform.

“WhatsApp uses the phone number associated with your account to identify your bank account through UPI. The name associated with your bank account is the name that will be shared,” the company said in an FAQ. Your legal name, which is the same as your bank account, would be visible to the person you send money to or receive money from on WhatsApp’s UPI-based platform. WhatsApp has already started displaying the notification regarding the changes that it is expected to make on its payments platform. The notification carries a link to WhatsApp’s FAQ page which details the need for the legal name and what exactly it is.

On the other hand, WhatsApp has announced that it will use the phone number linked with users’ WhatsApp accounts to identify their bank account numbers. The name that has been used on the bank account will be shared with the people involved in WhatsApp transactions. “When you use payments on WhatsApp, other UPI users will be able to view your legal name. This is the same name as your bank account,” the FAQ page reads.

Besides, WhatsApp lets users pick any name for their profile. It need not be their official name. Users can also use their nicknames or add emojis next to their names on WhatsApp. But things won’t be the same anymore. While users have not been asked to change their profile name, WhatsApp’s payment service will only display names as per their bank accounts when they opt-in for the WhatsApp payments feature.

Additionally, As far as the payment services are concerned, WhatsApp recently got approval from the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) to expand its WhatsApp Pay payments service to 40 million users in India. If you don’t know already, WhatsApp Pay is a payment feature available within the app. It is based on the Unified Payments Interface (UPI) platform.