The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) recently unveiled the UPI123Pay, a new service for feature phones, aimed at expanding digital payments to non-internet users. Furthermore, a 24/7 helpline for digital payments known as ‘Digisaathi’ has been initiated to aid users with information related to digital payment products and services. The National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) established this helpline which currently offers automated responses in English and Hindi.
Understanding Unified Payments Interface (UPI)
The Unified Payments Interface (UPI) is an improved form of the Immediate Payment Service (IMPS). It is a round-the-clock fund transfer service designed to make cashless payments quicker, more convenient, and smoother. UPI consolidates multiple bank accounts into a single mobile application of any participating bank, combining various banking features, seamless fund routing, and merchant payments under one roof.
Currently, UPI is the largest among the NPCI-operated systems, which include the National Automated Clearing House (NACH), IMPS, Aadhaar enabled Payment System (AePS), Bharat Bill Payment System (BBPS), RuPay etc. Major UPI applications currently accessible include PhonePe, Paytm, Google Pay, Amazon Pay, and BHIM – the latter being a Government initiative.
Introducing UPI 123 Pay
UPI 123 Pay will function on simple phones without needing an internet connection. Presently, UPI services are primarily available only on smartphones. RBI’s Regulatory Sandbox on Retail Payments will support this new feature. A regulatory sandbox usually denotes live testing of innovative products or services in a controlled regulatory environment for which regulators may allow certain regulatory relaxations solely for testing purposes.
UPI 123 Pay will facilitate digital transactions utilizing an ‘on-device’ wallet in UPI applications. Users can perform a variety of transactions using four technological options, including an IVR (interactive voice response) number, a missed call-based approach, an app function in feature phones, and proximity sound-based payments.
Benefits of UPI 123 Pay
The introduction of this service will enable people to make direct payments to others who are devoid of smartphones and internet connectivity. Users will have the leverage to initiate transactions with friends and family, pay utility bills, recharge FAST Tags on their vehicles, settle mobile bills, and also check account balances.
Most transactions can be executed using feature phones except for ‘scan and pay’ operations, thanks to UPI123Pay. The service is anticipated to benefit around 40 crore feature phone users by allowing them to undertake digital payments securely. In doing so, it will include non-smartphone users within the sphere of the digital payment system.
