Unified Payment Interface – Towards cashless economy

National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) announced on 26th August that bank applications for the Unified Payment Interface have officially become operational. Within 3 days apps of 19 banks went live on Play Store. In this post, we are going to discuss all about UPI (Unified Payment Interface)

What is UPI and what can a user do with the app?

How can I start using UPI?

If you already have apps of the below banks, just update the app from play store. If not downloaded then now it’s a good time to start using banking through mobile app.
The UPI app of 19 banks have gone live – Andhra Bank, Axis Bank, Bank of Maharashtra, Bhartiya Mahila Bank, Canara Bank, Catholic Syrian Bank, DCB Bank, Federal Bank, ICICI Bank, TJSB Sahakari Bank, Oriental Bank of Commerce, Karnataka Bank, UCO Bank, Union Bank of India, United Bank of India, Punjab National Bank, South Indian Bank, Vijaya Bank and YES Bank
Good Old SBI is not on the list, if you are searching, like I did.

I have the new app, now what?

1. Create virtual address
2. Set your bank account to receive and pay from

How safe is UPI?

It is safe as the customers only share a virtual address and provide no other sensitive information.
Here is my Virtual address adarshmadrecha@icici . Simple. You can also think of this virtual address as your email ID. (of-course you cannot send emails through it, haha)

What kind transactions can be performed via UPI?

1. Merchant payments,
2. Remittances,
3. Bill payments among others.
The per transaction limit is Rs.1 lakh.

Still have questions? Want to see a demo of the new technology?

Come join me on 14th Sept 2016, at Babubhai Chinai Hall, Indian Merchant Chambers, Churchgate, Mumbai.

CTC (Chamber of Tax Consultant) is organizing an seminar on UPI. We have this opportunity to learn everything about UPI from esteemed speaker  Mr. Sanjay Saxena , CFO at NCPI. NPCI has created the basic infrastructure on which the UPI will function.

UPI  as per NPCI

The Unified Payment Interface allows payments to be initiated by the payer, or by the payee. In  the  basic  payee  initiated  flows,  the  payment  request  is  routed  by  the initiating application through the NPCI switch to the payer for approval.  However, in certain  instances,  where  it  is  possible  to  connect  with  the  payer  immediately,  it  is preferred that the payee sends a payment request to the payer, who can then initiate the payment request with his credentials. This leads to a significantly smoother payment experience.