The land of WhatsApp uncles and ubiquitous ‘Good morning’ messages has given the blockbuster messaging platform its next global head, with Meta Platforms elevating Cred founder Kunal Shah to a senior role at the Facebook parent.Meta is also investing $900 million (about Rs 8,550 crore) in Cred through a mix of primary and secondary share purchases, valuing the fintech company at $4.5 billion, up from $3.5 billion in its previous funding round in 2025. The social media giant will own about 20% of Cred, though the company said Meta would remain a minority investor and will not have access to member data. Shah will step away from day-to-day operations at Cred, though he will remain a shareholder. Miten Sampat, who has led strategy and finance at the company since 2020, will take over as interim chief executive.Shah will succeed Will Cathcart, who has led WhatsApp since 2019, and relocate to Meta’s California headquarters. Cathcart will move to a new role within Meta focused on building new products.The appointment comes as Meta doubles down on India, WhatsApp’s biggest market with more than 600 million users, and steps up efforts to monetise the platform through payments, business messaging and AI. Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg said Shah “brings the kind of builder mentality and global perspective that will serve him well in running the world’s biggest messaging app”. Shah posted that he was stepping back “with gratitude” and confidence in the Cred team. Sampat said Cred had a “generational opportunity” to build on that foundation as it prepares for an eventual listing.Meta has been expanding WhatsApp’s role in India beyond messaging, adding UPI payments, metro ticketing, bill payments and mobile recharges. WhatsApp Pay has gathered pace after the removal of user-onboarding restrictions, processing more than 150 million monthly UPI transactions and capturing around 0.65% market share, according to NPCI data. However, it remains far behind PhonePe and Google Pay, which together account for nearly 79% of UPI transactions.Business messaging has emerged as a key growth engine for Meta, with revenues from paid messaging services crossing a $2-billion annualised run rate in the Dec 2025 quarter. The company has also been pushing AI tools for businesses on WhatsApp, enabling merchants to automate customer interactions and sales.Founded in 2018, Cred began as a rewards platform for credit card bill payments and has since expanded into lending, insurance, wealth management and commerce. The company says it has over 17 million monthly active members, manages a Rs 24,000-crore lending assets book through partner institutions and generates annual revenue of about Rs 3,200 crore. It recently posted its first profitable quarter and is working towards a potential IPO.Meta’s India operations, however, have been facing growing legal scrutiny. Earlier this year, the Supreme Court warned WhatsApp and its parent company against sharing user data for targeted advertising, saying citizens’ privacy rights could not be compromised for commercial interests. A bench led by CJI Surya Kant indicated the court could prohibit such practices if adequate safeguards are not put in place.
