NPCI launches new products; users can now make voice-enabled UPI payments and three other features


The NPCI on Wednesday launched a slew of new payment options on popular payments platform UPI, including conversational transactions. 
Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor Shaktikanta Das announced the launch of the products by the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) at the ongoing Global Fintech Festival here.


One of the products is Hello! UPI that will enable users to make voice-enabled UPI payments via apps, telecom calls, and IoT devices in Hindi and English. It will soon be available in several other regional languages also.


NPCI said the credit line on UPI facility will enable customers access pre-sanctioned credit from banks via UPI.


Separately, users will be able to send and receive money offline using the other product, LITE X product. Further, the UPI Tap & Pay facility, in addition to the conventional scan-and-pay method, will allow customers to simply tap Near Field Communication- (NFC-) enabled QR codes at merchant locations to complete their payments.


Credit Line on UPI

To expand access to credit, promote financial inclusion and innovation, the RBI Governor launched Credit Line on UPI. This new offering enables pre-sanctioned credit lines from banks via UPI and will revolutionize customer access to credit, fostering a more streamlined and digital banking ecosystem.


With this, the process of availing, connecting, and utilizing credit lines will be significantly expedited, driving economic growth and progress. The initiative encompasses several key features, including the linkage of pre-sanctioned credit lines, the creation of digital credit products by banks, the establishment of interest-free credit periods and corresponding interest rates, defined schedule of charges, customer engagement channels for credit sanction requests, and the ability to link various pre-sanctioned credit lines via UPI-enabled apps for transactions. To ensure seamless interoperability, all UPI apps, including bank and third-party apps, will be empowered to discover and link credit lines on UPI, as well as provide end-to-end customer lifecycle services.


UPI LITE X and Tap & Pay

Building on the success of UPI LITE feature, the RBI Governor launched UPI LITE X for Offline payments.


Through this feature, users can now both send and receive money whilst being completely offline, therefore, allowing users to initiate and execute transactions even in areas with poor connectivity, such as underground stations, remote areas, etc. UPI LITE X will be accessible to anyone with a compatible device that supports Near Field Communication (NFC). UPI LITE payments are faster than other payment methods, as they require less time to process the transaction.


QR codes have seamlessly integrated into the UPI payments ecosystem, playing a crucial role in facilitating digital transactions. In a significant move towards enhancing QR code and Near Field.


Communication (NFC) technology adoption, the RBI Governor also introduced UPI Tap & Pay. In addition to the conventional Scan and Pay method, users now have the option to simply tap NFCenabled QR codes at merchant locations to complete their payments.


Conversational Payments

The next in the line of announcements was Conversational UPI Payments and Conversational Bill Payments. Conversational Payments underscores the emergence of a novel paradigm for humanmachine interaction facilitated by AI-enabled transactions which will further deepen the reach and use of digital payments in the country.


Hello! UPI – Conversational Payments on UPI:

The introduction of conversational UPI payments will augment user experience by enabling them to make voice-enabled UPI payments via UPI Apps, telecom calls, and IoT devices in Hindi and English, and will soon be available in several other regional languages. This expansion will broaden payment accessibility for most Indians who are fluent in their native languages, providing significant benefits to senior citizens and digitally inexperienced individuals. Users can simply give voice commands to transfer funds and input UPI PIN to complete the transaction. NPCI has partnered with the Bhashini program – AI4Bharat at IIT Madras, to co-develop Hindi and English payment language models.


BillPay Connect – Conversational Bill Payments:

With BillPay Connect, Bharat BillPay introduces a nationalized number for bill payments across India. Customers can now conveniently fetch and pay their bills by sending a simple ‘Hi’ on the messaging app. Along with this, customers without smartphones or immediate mobile data access will be able to pay bills by giving a missed call. Customers will receive an immediate call back for verification and payment authorization. Additionally, BillPay Connect offers Voice Assisted Bill Payments facility. Customers can fetch and pay bills through voice commands on their smart home devices and get instant voice confirmation. Moreover, instant voice confirmations will be enabled for bill payments made at physical collection centers through payment soundbox devices. This development aims to provide both customers and collection centers with added security and a sense of reassurance.


NPCI Advisor and Non-Executive Chairman of Infosys Nandan Nilekani, and NPCI Non-Executive Chairman Biswamohan Mahapatra were also present at the launch.


Nilekani termed the NPCI as a "crown jewel" in the Indian technology landscape.


To ensure seamless interoperability, all UPI apps, including bank and third-party apps, will be able to discover and link credit lines on UPI, and provide end-to-end customer lifecycle services, NPCI said.


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Unified Payments Interface (UPI)-payments without entering bank account details

The National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) has announced that Unified Payments Interface (UPI) application has become operational. 

The application will allow customers to make easier real-time payments via digital means using smartphones. 

Key Facts 
The payment gateway became operational after it received the Reserve Bank of India’s clearance that allowed banks’ UPI applications to go live on Google Play Store. 
Initially, the UPI will be available only on the Android mobile operating system. It will be going live with 21 banks in the first phase. 

Unified Payments Interface (UPI)
UPI is a flagship product of NPCI that will help India to move towards a cashless economy. It is a set of standard Application Programming Interface (APIs). 
It will provide uniform mobile payment system by leveraging digital trends such as increasing smart phone adoption and deeper penetration of mobile data. 
It will allow customers to send and receive money from their smartphones using virtual payments address without entering bank account details. It facilitates ‘virtual address’ as a single payment identifier for sending and collecting money and works on single click 2 factor authentication. 
It works as a single identifier that will eliminate the need to exchange sensitive information such as bank account numbers during a financial transaction. 
It merges several banking features, seamless fund routing and merchant payments into one hood. Thus, it will be a single app for accessing different bank accounts. 
It also provides an option for scheduling push and pull transactions for various purposes like sharing bills among peers. 
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