Kunal Shah takes global WhatsApp role as Meta bets $900M on CRED to fuse chat, commerce, payments

Meta has tapped CRED founder Kunal Shah to lead WhatsApp globally, pairing the move with a $900M investment in CRED. The signal: WhatsApp's 3 billion users become the front door for embedded commerce and payments, with India as the proving ground for transaction-led messaging.

— Filed Wed, 24 Jun, 2026, 20:23 IST · Source The Hindu BusinessLine · Updated

Kunal Shah's appointment as global head of WhatsApp, alongside Meta's $900M CRED investment, signals Meta's push to deepen commerce and payments within WhatsApp, especially in India, embedding transactions into everyday consumer messaging journeys.