Google Pay introduces ‘tap to pay’ for UPI transactions

Google Pay has announced the launch of ‘tap to pay’ for UPI (Unified Payments Interface) transactions in India.      

The feature will allow users to make UPI payments by tapping their phones directly on a supported Point-of-Sale (PoS) terminal at shops.

However, it will be available to UPI users who have NFC-enabled Android smartphones. Apple doesn't allow NFC-based payments through services other than Apple Pay.

Now users no longer have to scan a QR code with their phone which will reduce the time of the same or entering the UPI-linked mobile number to make a payment.  

To use the new feature, a user needs to do is tap their phone on the POS terminal and authenticate the payment from their phone using their UPI PIN. 

The tech giant launched this new feature in collaboration with Pine labs.

For tap-to-pay transactions, the functionality requires a Pine Labs Android PoS terminal.

According to Google, this feature was initially piloted with Reliance Retail and will now be available at other large merchants including Future Retail and Starbucks.

“Tap to Pay for UPI has profound implications for high traffic retail outlets, with queue management hassles poised to be greatly reduced, and taking digital payments at POS well beyond cards. We are very excited to bring this first-ever innovation to India, in collaboration with Pine Labs,” said Sajith Sivanandan, business head for Google Pay and Next Billion User initiatives, Google APAC, in a press statement.

The tap to pay feature is not new to Google Pay, as this was previously available for cards. For UPI, consumers only had the option of QR code scans or phone numbers.  

Google Pay is one of the leading apps to support UPI payments in India.