Meta Platforms has appointed Indian fintech founder Kunal Shah as chief executive of WhatsApp, marking the first external hire for the role. Shah, 47, built Cred into a $4.5 billion‑valued payments platform and will step away from day‑to‑day management. Meta will also inject $900 million for a roughly 20% stake in Cred, cementing a deep partnership and deepen integration with Meta's ad ecosystem.

Cred posted $325 million in revenue and its first profitable quarter this year after seven years of expansion. Shah previously sold Free Charge to Snapdeal for nearly $400 million in 2015, proving his ability to create low‑cost transaction platforms for India’s prepaid‑mobile base. Analysts argue his background could unlock monetisation of WhatsApp’s 860 million Indian users, who logged just 150 million monthly transactions and position the firm for cross‑selling.

WhatsApp has struggled to translate its massive user base into financial services revenue, trailing rivals PhonePe and Google Pay, which together handle over 17 billion transactions monthly. Shah’s appointment signals Meta’s intent to embed commerce and AI‑driven business tools into the messenger. The move creates a clear test of whether a fintech‑savvy CEO can turn trust into measurable transaction volume and justify the hefty investment.