In the month of August, the finance minister “Nirmala Sitharaman,” tweeted that UPI transactions had risen to 6 billion. The Q1 stats for 2022 manifest the very fact of Indian citizens’ inclination towards the digital transaction method of UPI (Unified Payment Interface).
UPI is a payment system developed by NPCI (National Payment Council of India) which is popular for its immediate transactions between banks. The system regulated by RBI makes transactions easy in inter-bank peer-to-peer and person to merchants through a mobile platform.
The interface was introduced by the Indian government as a vision statement in 2012 to build an effortless, efficient, and secure payment system for the country. It was viewed as a green initiative to decrease the use of paper for cash production and a method to prevent the country from further corruption.
Officially launched to the public in 2016 the payment system came out to be one of the most victorious technologies in India. In Q1 of 2022, the country experienced 9.36 billion transactions making ₹10.20 trillion through numerous payment methods by UPI. It continues to grow in the digital market with a lead of 64% market share in volume and 50% in terms of value.
Benefits of UPI
RBI estimates that UPI will contribute 8% to India's GDP by 2025 based on its contributions to payments and transactions. The UPI is presently linked with savings and current accounts through users’ wallets. The stats clearly state the benefits that UPI shares,
Easy and quick: A simple method that can be commonly used for merchant payments and transactions both by entering a 4-digit pin and allowing the transaction to happen anywhere at any time.
Universally accepted interface: A single UPI application can be used to transfer amounts in multiple bank accounts and is acceptable to different banks.
Immediate and 24x7 availability: As IMPS has 12 hours limit for money transfers and NEFT has a 30-minute waiting period, UPI is an instant transfer process and is constantly available.
The country’s finance minister has set zero fees for fund transactions through UPI.
Use a scan and a unique ID instead of acquiring all bank or card details for every transaction.
UPI for Fintech
Previously, payment services in India were regulated by banks and credit card companies but with the hype in information technologies, financial support has been extended to a new level. The difference between previous and present financial support is the acceptance of technology by the new businesses called Fintech companies.
The development of innovative and easy payment modules by Indian fintech companies has helped India stand out in the global digital market. Fintech allowed its customers to use UPI as a payment mode for quick and effortless transactions. With 26 crore end users and over 5 crore merchant users, for fintech companies, UPI impacted their ability to remain a constant mode of payment.
UPI develops trust in the customers as it does not share the card details with merchants while making payments. Furthermore, the interface enables fintech companies to register through Aadhaar, fingerprints, and mobile phone verification with the benefit of instant solutions that are easy to use.
With the help of fintech companies, UPI has simplified purchasing for e-commerce businesses. It also enables businesses to keep the track of each transaction.
RBI’s new initiative
With a new vision of supporting the country in digitalizing RBI has launched a new service called UPI123 PAY on 8, March 2022 that enables feature phone users to pay without any internet connection. The UPI payment method had previously been available for smartphones, but now the new initiative is helping over 400 million feature phone users contribute to the digitalization of the country.
Manufacturers can integrate the service into the feature phone with various methods of distributing software, which can then be used to make payments.
The service will also allow its users to connect with the merchant through a missed call and a verification pin will ask for permission to continue the transaction.
Using pre-defined phone numbers an IVR (Interactive Voice Response) based payment transaction can be done easily.
Sound-based data communication proximity can authorize the offline mode of payment.
BankIT’s services for merchants and individuals
For an easy cashless transaction use the most convenient and safest application, BankIT Pay App. Issue BankIT prepaid card for better use of funds and its management.
The app helps in a better way to control the funds through its services and is linked to BankIT prepaid card that is acceptable at any merchant.
The BankIT prepaid cards are reloadable through UPI.
24x7 availability of domestic money transfer, prepaid cards, bill payments and recharges with BankIT’s services through web and mobile applications.
Feel safe with BankIT’s instant deactivation and card blockage service.
