WhatsApp to Offer In-App Purchasing and Cloud Hosting Services

Facebook Inc said it's WhatsApp messaging app would start offering in-app purchases and hosting services to increase revenue and e-commerce infrastructure across the platform.

WhatsApp will enable businesses to sell products inside the app via Facebook Shops, an online store launched in May that offers a unified shopping experience across all of Facebook's apps.

As the company enters the cloud computing sector, firms will have the ability to store customer service messages on Facebook servers.

The shopping tool is expected to roll out before the end of this year, while message hosting will only become available in 2021.