Google completed testing of an India-focused payment service and is awaiting approval from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), while separate talks are ongoing with Facebook and WhatsApp, National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) CEO Abhaya Hota confirmed.

Speaking to Business Today India (BTI), Hota said the organisation had passed on details of Google’s application to the RBI for approval and was in discussions on launches by WhatsApp and Facebook for their payment services.

This confirms rumours earlier in the year both Google and WhatsApp were investigating adding financial services to their platforms in India.

In the BTI interview, Hota did not clarify whether the Google service would launch under the Android Pay brand used elsewhere, or as part of an alternative system.

India’s mobile payment market is becoming increasingly competitive with a range of companies developing mobile financial services to compete with existing mobile wallet applications, banks and mobile operators.

In June, popular messaging platform Hike unveiled the ability to transfer funds to contacts through its application using the NCPI’s United Payment Interface (UPI).

The NCPI is an organisation concerned with increasing access to digital payments in the country and helps companies launch services using its UPI, which acts as a backbone to integrate payment services from a range of banks and third party suppliers in India.