The National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) has added many additional payment methods, including conversational transactions, to the well-known UPI platform in a big drive to increase digital payments. Governor of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), Shaktikanta Das, revealed these developments during the Global Fintech Festival.
The key products include:
1. Hello! UPI - conversational payments: This feature enables users to make voice-enabled UPI payments through apps, phone calls, and IoT devices in Hindi and English, with more regional languages to come. It simplifies tasks like splitting bills or paying friends.
2. Credit line on UPI: This allows customers to access pre-sanctioned credit from banks through UPI, promoting financial inclusion and innovation.
3. UPI LITE X for offline payments: Users can send and receive money offline, enhancing accessibility, especially in areas with poor connectivity. UPI LITE payments are faster and require less processing time.
4. Tap & Pay: This method, alongside the traditional scan-and-pay, lets customers tap NFC-enabled QR codes at merchant locations for swift payments.
5. BillPay Connect – Conversational bill payments: Bharat BillPay introduces a nationalized number for bill payments. Customers can easily fetch and pay their bills with a simple message or by giving a missed call, even without smartphones or immediate data access. Voice-assisted bill payments via smart home devices are also available.
These products aim to create an inclusive and resilient digital payments ecosystem, contributing to the goal of 100 billion UPI transactions per month. The NPCI's initiative will streamline access to credit, support offline transactions, and simplify bill payments, advancing digital banking in India.
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