The Unified Payments Interface (UPI), which comes into effect Monday, is a single interface across all National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) systems, allowing customers to instantaneously transfer funds across different banks with the use of a single identification and password.
Multiple bank accounts can be linked to a single mobile banking application and money can be both received and requested through the same interface. This could weaken the case for consumers having to store money in multiple electronic wallets to pay for services such as cab rides, movie tickets or utility bills.
Mobile banking has surged in India in recent months as banks have pushed both retail and corporate customers to adopt platforms designed to transact on the phone. In the September-December quarter, the value of mobile banking transactions surged 82% over the same period last year.
The launch of UPI could quicken its growth further. Here’s how:
7 Key Points –
- Unified Payment Interface (UPI), which will make money transfer as simple as sending a text message.
- In the first phase, which will start next week, 29 banks will operate the platform.
- It will be inter-operable across different banks and will allow instant payments.
- Payments can be made by only knowing the mobile or Aadhaar number.
- The platform will help eliminate the requirement of receiver’s bank account, IFSC code.
- UPI is set to allow you to make payments using your mobile phone as the primary device without the need for you to download an app to send or receive money.
- UPI runs on Immediate Payment Service (IMPS) platform, the service will be available real-time and 24×7.