With the advent of cheap, a large number of countries are trying to go cashless. Going full digital will also help Government track their money better. Almost every country has devised its own payment app. After the pandemic, there were about 70 billion digital transactions that happened in 2020 alone. A number of people have now turned to online shopping at present. This is why in every country there was a surge in digital shoppers. Globally, the total transaction value in Digital Payments is expected to reach US$8,562 Billion in 2022.
But what is real-time payments you may ask, Realtime payments are platforms or networks via which online payments can be made 24/7.
So, let’s look at the Countries with the most real-time payments. These countries have innovated significantly in their digital payment space. This has enabled the common man to make transactions digitally.
Real-time transactions of different Countries in 2020
India has the most real-time payments. It seems that India has successfully designed payment technologies that can be used by the common man. India has a number of apps that are reliable for digital payment.
Companies like Paytm and Google Pay have pioneered digital payment in India. They have made digital payment accessible to the common man. The main game changer was UPI. This is what led to such high digital transactions. Paytm has also enabled QR-based payment for any kind of small business. This is why anyone could digitally pay anybody. After the pandemic, there was a significant rise in online shopping and which gave rise to digital contactless payments. Digital transactions grew close to 90% in the three years from FY19 to FY21. The value of digital payments in India in 2021 was 300 billion. In the financial year 2021, around 44 billion digital payments were recorded across India. Total transaction value in the Digital Payments segment is projected to reach US$142 billion in 2022. Market experts and statistics predict that it will grow to reach 1 trillion by 2026.
China has a huge amount of online transactions and it has a number of online payment app like Alipay, Wechat Pay, ApplePay, Tenpay, and others. AliPay and wechat pay are most widely used for digital transactions than any other company. A lot of businesses fully transact digitally. The businesses which operate with AliPay also transact digitally. As of December 2021, around 900million people used digital payment transactions in China. Total transaction value in the Digital Payments segment is projected to reach US$3,225 billion in 2022.
South Korea is another country that has digitized all kinds of banking and peer-to-peer transactions in a big way. Apps like Amex, Kakao Pay and has a lot of transactions in South Korea. There are other apps like Toss Pay, Payco, T-money, Cashbee, Visa payment. After the pandemic, a lot of businesses came online and started accepting payments online. This led to increase in online payment in South Korea. Total transaction value in the Digital Payments segment is projected to reach US$ 214 billion in 2022. The digital payments in south Korea is expected to reach $ 500 billion by 2024.
Thailand
Thailand is another country that is doing a lot in the field of online payment. They have come up with a payment platform called prompt pay. Before pandemic Thailand had about 7 million, now it has 14.5 million transactions in the whole country. There are also other startups that are coming forward and are building solutions to make digital payment more feasible. Total transaction value in the Digital Payments segment is projected to reach US$ 32 billion in 2022.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom also has a lot of digital transactions. There is a number of options for digital wallets in the United Kingdom. PayPal is one of the prime companies which provide all kinds of banking transactions. After the pandemic, there is a huge rise in online payment in e-commerce. There are also other fintech companies that are coming into the space to provide solutions in this sector.
The UK is trying to build a very robust online payment system and the adoption of people to digital ways is also increasing. Total transaction value in the Digital Payments segment is projected to reach US$ 436 billion in 2022.
Nigeria
Nigeria is another country that has tried implementing digital payment methods in its territory. There are many apps like Tingg, Paga, Mobile Money. After the pandemic, the digital payment penetration is very high. Though there are other challenges like poor internet, a lot of entrepreneurs are coming forward to provide solutions in this area. The real-time payment volumes grew hugely in 2020. The Real-time volume was 1.9 billion in 2020. It is expected to reach $7.7 Billion by 2025. Total transaction value in the Digital Payments segment is projected to reach US$ 13 billion in 2022.
Japan
Though Japan is a very technologically advanced country, it is still making a huge amount of transactions in cash only. Experts say that the scenario will change as a lot of the younger population will start transacting through online means. After the pandemic, Japan also saw a significant rise in digital transactions. In 2021, around 5.74 billion digital transactions were recorded. Total transaction value in the Digital Payments segment is projected to reach US$ 364 billion in 2022.
Brazil
Brazil is also taking huge strides to transition to online payment. Though in the present, people in Brazil do 40% of transactions by cash a lot of people are transitioning to online means. There are a number of Fintech companies that have mushroomed up in order to provide service in this space. Pix a fintech software launched by Brazil’s Central Bank is used hugely in this country. Total transaction value in the Digital Payments segment is projected to reach US$ 69 billion in 2022.
United States of America
The United States Of America also has a huge amount of online transactions in the world. Companies like PayPal and Google Pay are leading in the USA. They have redefined banking and has made banking transaction much simpler. After the pandemic, the USA also saw a significant rise in online transactions. Total transaction value in the Digital Payments is projected to reach US$ 1801 billion in 2022.
Mexico is transitioning to digital modes of payment recently but a lot needs to be done in this sector. Presently about 85% of transactions happen through cash. Strange behavior that has been noted in the Mexican people is that they consider cash to be more reliable than online payment. Even if they are buying something on any e-commerce, they prefer cash on delivery. Apart from that, the banks are also not very innovative. Total transaction value in the Digital Payments segment is forecasted to reach US$ 72 billion in 2022.
Conclusion
The Covid 19 has provided a massive boost to real-time payment applications as people were confined in their homes and opted for a cashless solution.
FAQs
Which country has most number of digital payments?
India is the leading country with 25.5 billion real-time payment transactions.
How many countries have instant payments?
54 countries have activated real-time payment systems.
Which country doesn’t use cash?
Sweden is a country where about 80 percent of Swedes use cards with 58 percent of payments being made by card and only six percent made in cash, according to the Swedish Central Bank.
The unified payments interface is the buzzword for the pandemic year. Ever since the pandemic hit, people became scared of touching any surface in the world. This was the time when the UPI came to the rescue. UPI or the unified payments interface is a method or gateway that is capable of transferring money from one bank to the other. This is a life saviour in a country like India. We are a country of more than a billion people and everyone has to do certain basic transactions everyday.
With so many transactions happening all over the country, it becomes hard and inconvenient. UPI eases just that thing. It lets you pay directly from your bank and you don’t have to carry notes and currency of small denominations and even larger denominations. In all its sense, UPI was a game-changer in India. It is fast, safe, easy and convenient.
There was however some issue over the UPI case in India. You cannot transfer money outside the borders of India. For that, you will have to follow some other method of transaction. In recent news, it was announced that Nepal (India’s neighbour) will accept the UPI payments from India. In fact, it will be the first country that will adopt the UPI system that India has inbuilt in itself. This step will be playing a pivotal role in transforming digital work all over the place, in India and as well as in Nepal. It was officially announced by the NPCI on Thursday, last week.
NPCI stands for National payments corporation of India. Here we will be discussing Nepal, which is India’s friend and all in all aspects. In this article, we will also discuss what will be the after-effects of this news. How will the fintech startups change, will this be a better move for them or will the move give them a hard time. Let us see first how the UPI works, and why it is so widely used.
A Small Brief About the Unified Payments Interface
We have invented so much, achieved so much and we are still in the process of innovating and adding value to the world. However, any amount of technology in the world is of no use, if it cannot ease the life of humans. Because what’s the matter if tech is useless? When the population rises to a great extent, something has to be invented which will work efficiently in managing human affairs.
In fact, as the population of the world rises, there has to be something that holds the number of transactions happening everywhere. This is when the word digital payment came into the picture. It is a mode of payment that is made via Digital means. Real money is flown out of a payer’s bank and is credited to the receiver’s bank. This is also a fast, easy and secure method to transact.
In a country like India, where the population bubble is so huge, it becomes crucial to innovate in the medium of transactions. This is when the word UPI comes to place. There is a strong possibility that someone has not heard of this word beforehand.
UPI or Unified Payment Interface is a digital payments service that costs nothing to the payer and receiver but makes it easy for both parties. It is a payments service and as the name suggests, it is a pathway through which money can be transferred to anyone in India.
It is the most accepted digital payments method. Since the demonetisation and the covid 19 pandemic, the use cases of UPI has also risen many folds. Which makes it the perfect go-to pathway for any sort of transaction.
It is developed by NPCI, which stands for National Payments Corporation of India. It is safe and secure as it is regulated by the Reserve Bank of India. RBI is the Apex bank in India, which is also the central bank of India. It regulates and secures every UPI transaction happening in the country. It is secure in this manner.
Another thing is that UPI is simple and convenient. All it takes is a mobile number and a bank account. It connects with your email id which is used to make a VPA ID. VPA is a virtual payments address.
As the name suggests, it is the online address to which payments are directed or payments are taken. VPA is something that directs the payment/transaction path. Transfers can be inter-bank and they can also be intra-bank. A mobile number also works seamlessly in the UPI payment system, if it is attached/linked with the bank account of the sender or receiver.
There are many benefits for a service like the UPI. But however, there is one limit to a UPI transaction. You cannot do a UPI payment across borders as it is only available in India. In recent news, something striking happened. It was reported that Nepal will be accepting the UPI structure of India. It is such a great welcoming move by which people can transact even in Nepal from a UPI enabled app. Let us see what is the news and what will be its implications.
India Nepal UPI Collaboration
In recent news, it was announced that Nepal will be accepting UPI which is a great initiative for development in both the countries, India and Nepal. In fact, it will become the first country to do this. The country said that they want to adopt India’s payment gateway for growing together.
NCPI has also given a nod to this agreement. Its foreign wing has joined hands with another technology entity to provide services in Nepal. The work of providing the infrastructure for this facility will begin soon in time.
NPCI International, Gateway Payment Service, and Manam Infotech, all three trifectas have come together and joined hands to deploy UPI solutions in Nepal. NPCI International Payments Ltd (NIPL) is all set to Enable NPCI’s flagship Unified Payments Interface(UPI) platform in Nepal.
This partnership or collaboration will enable many developments, like the creation of a real-time payments system in Nepal, leveraging NPCI’s top of the line or state of the art technology to democratise payments and displace cash
NCPI has come together and joined hands with GPS and Manam Infotech to provide services relating to the Unified Payments Interface to the country of Nepal. GPS here stands for Gateway Payments Services and Manam is a famous tech company on the land of Nepal. It has been clearly stated that GPS or Gateway payment service will be responsible for acting as a system operator for payments in Nepal.
Manam infotech will add the Unified Payments Interface to the whole country. It is a divided work and with the joint efforts of the respected bodies, this work will be done in an effective manner.
The collaboration will also make for the larger digital public good in Nepal. This effort on both ends will improve real-time person-to-person which is called P2P and person-to-merchant which is P2M transactions in the neighbouring country, NPCI said in a statement.
There have been rising sentiments of all the people who see UPI as a great initiative in a digital world. With Nepal joining hands with India, this will boost the usage of UPI and it will also promote the digital economy which everyone today strives to become. Moreover, this broad use of UPI will also bring these two countries together in the same sphere of payments.
As merchants and consumers from both countries will get benefits from this collaboration. Payments can be received and accepted from both countries which will make trade and communication easier on both ends of the locations.
With collaboration with Nepal, we can achieve a greater goal of merging the two economies, not exactly but the magnitude will rise in both places. As the collaboration will start working, it will also be seen that person to person and person to merchant transactions will also improve the number of countries. National payments corporation of India and investors and merchants are all looking forward to all the doors of opportunities that will be open after this collaboration on UPI.
National payments corporation and NIPL (International payments limited) which is its foreign wing, was incorporated in April 2020. The NIPL is a wholly-owned subsidiary of the national payments corporation of India. The sole purpose of NPCI is to regulate all the UPI payments in India.
Everything that is related to the Unified payment interface in India is to be managed by this entity. The foreign department of NPCI is known as NIPL and operates in connecting UPI outside Indian borders. The purpose of NIPL is to employ a payment system that is real-time, with the international markets. It has also the work of card schemes and RuPay which works outside Indian borders.
NPCI or the national payments corporation of India has developed and proved its capabilities in the past. It is the organisation that has the majority stakes in working overtime with the UPI in India.
The widespread usage of the Unified payments interface would not be possible, had it not been with the NPCI. Thus, this body has been the worthy organisation to regulate and promote UPI in Indian markets. The international wing of NPCI has also done immense work in its designated part. NIPL is focused on transforming payments across the globe with the use of technology and innovation
Nepal has a population of about 30 million (3 crore) with around 45 per cent banked. Mobile penetration of over 135 per cent with 65 percent of the population using smartphones provides a bedrock for seamless replication of the digital revolution in India to be replicated in Nepal, NPCI said.
NPCI International, Gateway Payment Service, and Manam Infotech. The trifecta has come to deploy UPI solutions in Nepal. This partnership or collaboration will enable many consequences, like the creation of a real-time payments system in Nepal, leveraging NPCI’s top of the line or state of the art technology to democratise payments and displace cash. NPCI International Payments Ltd (NIPL) is all set to Enable NPCI’s flagship Unified Payments Interface(UPI) platform in Nepal.
Conversely, several countries want to establish a ‘real-time payment system’ or ‘domestic card scheme’ in their own country. NIPL, with its knowledge and experience, can offer these countries technological assistance through licensing, consulting for building real-time payment systems to meet the rapidly evolving need of fast-growing global businesses. It will not only enable payment for Indians but also uplift other countries by enhancing their payment capabilities through technological assistance, consulting, and infrastructure.
As mentioned before, NPCI is the governing body when it comes to any case related to UPI. NPCI stands for National payments corporation India. In this case, when Nepal is agreeing to add UPI in their country, NPCI has to nod. To this query, it is amazing to see that NPCI has agreed to the partnership which will improve payments in both geographies. The foreign/international wing of the national payments corporation of India has cleared any issues related to the collaborations.
NIPL which is National international payments Ltd, which is the foreign department of the National payments corporation of India has joined with some organisations to provide UPI to the international market. In this case, where Nepal will become the first-ever country to get the UPI as their payments gateway, NIPL has planned everything which they will be needing.
They have joined two other entities to fulfil their mission of enabling UPI in Nepal. The two bodies are the GPS and Manam. GPS stands for gateway payments service and the other entity is Manam Infotech. Enabling the Unified Payments Interface in Nepal, which is not an easy task, requires a lot of work and efficiency. These two entities with which the NIPL has collaborated, are well versed with the world of UPI and how it operates.
Gateway Payments Service will be the payment system operator in Nepal. The other company, that is Manam Infotech will be responsible for employing Unified Payments Interface in the neighbour to India.
The collaboration will serve the larger digital public good in Nepal and bolster interoperable real-time person-to-person (P2P) and person-to-merchant (P2M) transactions in the neighbouring country, NPCI said in a statement.
“Nepal shall be the first country outside of India to adopt UPI as the payments platform driving the digitalization of cash transactions and furthering the vision and objectives of the Nepal Government and Nepal Rastra Bank as the Central bank,” it said.
This collaboration will enable the last-mile consumers in Nepal to reap the benefits of an open interoperable payments system driving immediate payment transfers between bank accounts and merchant payments in real-time.
Among all the news of Nepal accepting Unified payment interface as their go-to transacting pathway, one entity is in charge of the settings. You guessed it right, it is Manam Infotech private limited.
Manam infotech will be the responsible body for enabling UPI technology and operations in India. It will work very closely and parallel to the GPS. GPS or Gateway payments service is the service that is entrusted with the responsibility of maintaining the pathway.
Nepal shall be the first country outside of India to adopt UPI as the payments platform driving the digitalisation of cash transactions and furthering the vision and objectives of the Nepal Government and Nepal Rastra Bank as the Central bank.
“Manam has always been part of major digital transformation across the various regions of the world, we believe this partnership will eliminate all the barriers of payment transformation within Nepal and across the border thereby transforming the regional economy,” Naga Babu Ramineni, Director of Manam said.
Manam Infotech Private Limited is a very repeated name in the article and it is worthy to be named many times. Manam Infotech is a Fintech (Finance plus technology) company based out of Bangalore, India.
Manam Infotech is the fintech arm for many leading banks across various regions. The regions in which Manam infotech works fabulously includes Asia, Africa and the Middle East. The company stands tall with over a decade of experience in digital wallets, payments, and all the omnipresent banking and digital lending. Manam Infotech has also been a part of transforming the traditional banks to digital-first banks, which was the primary focus of the government for a long time now.
What is the Gateway Payment Service (GPS)?
Another name that we have repeated in this article is GPS or the gateway payment service. GPS is a payment system operator with expertise in all the works relating to payment services and operators. It is to its core a PSO or a payment system operator.
It is licensed by NRB, which stands for Nepal Rastra Bank, which is the apex bank in the country (Central Bank of Nepal). It has been allowed a PSO licence which enables the entity to work and operate in all sorts of payment and transaction settlement-related technology.
GPS has all the rights that include all that of payment gateway, domestic and international gateway, with UPI, that is unified payments interface in switch and in card transactions.
Benefits of UPI collaboration in Nepal
The benefits that this collaboration entails are endless. The collaboration will help people build real-time money connections with the country without having to go through the hassle of other payment methods. This UPI partnership will be real-time and it will be capable of crossing borders.
All person to person money transactions and remittances between India and Nepal will flow like water. Not just person to person transactions but all the transactions related to the merchant’s part will be carried out effectively if this collaboration gets realised.
The benefits are endless, as UPI is one of the most famous methods of payment in India. India is the second-most populous country in the world and UPI is a hit here. With all the volume of transactions that are received from here, it will benefit a lot from Nepal and it will add a good amount of transactions to Nepal too.
In 2021, UPI enabled 39 Billion financial transactions amounting to commerce worth USD 940 Billion, which is equivalent to approximately 31% of India’s GDP. UPI’s real-time payment infrastructure will help catalyse the process of financial inclusion in Nepal and will also create more opportunities for businesses. It will help modernise Nepal’s digital payment infrastructure and bring the convenience of digital payments to citizens of Nepal.
Ritesh Shukla, CEO of NIPL said, “We are delighted to join hands with GPS and Manam Infotech to facilitate the deployment of NPCI’s flagship Unified Payments Interface in Nepal. At NIPL, we are committed to transforming payments by taking our robust payments solutions to global markets and collaborating with local payment system operators. We are excited about this partnership, which will enable consumers within Nepal to transact swiftly using a state-of-the-art UPI platform and deliver a seamless user experience. We are confident that this initiative will stand as a testimony to NAPLes technological capabilities and vision of scaling our unique offerings globally.”
Naga Babu Ramineni, Director of Manam said, “Manam has always been part of major digital transformation across the various regions of the world, we believe this partnership will eliminate all the barriers of payment transformation within Nepal and across the border thereby transforming the regional economy.”
Rajesh Prasad Manandhar, CEO of GPS said, “The same UPI service has created a significant positive impact in India in terms of the country’s digital payment transformation. We expect UPI in Nepal would play a pivotal role in transforming the digital economy of the country and dreams of building a less-cash society.”
How Will UPI Be Implemented in Nepal?
The neighbouring country of India, Nepal has good population stats. Out of all the population of Nepal, about 45 percent have bank accounts. That 45 percent account for something about 30 million people. Mobile penetration in Nepal is over 135 percent.
Moreover, it is reported that 65 percent of the population uses smartphones which will provide a good base for UPI payments. Not only this, the three major companies will work towards increasing the volume of transactions.
The three companies we are mentioning here are the UPI backed service providers. It is NPCI, National payments corporations of India, GPS, Gateway payment services, and Manam Infotech. All these three companies will work together to employ all the necessary equipment to make Unified payments accessible in Nepal all over the place.
It will also enable the way forward for real-time cross-border P2P remittances between Nepal and India, NPCI said. UPI service has created a significant positive impact in India in terms of the country’s digital payment transformation, Rajesh Prasad Manandhar, CEO of GPS said.
“We expect UPI in Nepal would play a pivotal role in transforming the digital economy of the country and dreams of building a less-cash society,” he added.
In 2021, UPI enabled 3,900 crore financial transactions valuing USD 940 billion, which is equivalent to approximately 31 per cent of India’s GDP. NIPL, being an internationally focused subsidiary of NPCI, is looking to drive deep collaboration with overseas partners in the areas of UPI like deployment, cross-border remittance, acceptance, using indigenously developed technologies in digital payments.
“At NIPL, we are committed to transforming payments by taking our robust payments solutions to global markets and collaborating with local payment system operators. We are confident that this initiative will stand as a testimony to NAPLes technological capabilities and vision of scaling our unique offerings globally,” Ritesh Shukla, CEO of NIPL said in the statement.
UPI’s real-time payment infrastructure will help catalyse the process of financial inclusion in Nepal and will also create more opportunities for businesses, NPCI said.
NIPL, being an internationally focused subsidiary of NPCI, is looking to drive deep collaboration with overseas partners in the areas of UPI like deployment, cross-border remittance, acceptance, using indigenously developed technologies in digital payments, NCPI said.
All the three organisations have nodded to set up a laid out plan in this path. They will be working together in a closely-knit target and process that will enable UPI in Nepal.
The benefits, as previously mentioned are countless. There will be ease in transactions of any sort, people and merchants will be the group of people who will be the first and foremost most affected in a good sense.
In short, it is a great move and that is why the NPCI and the concerned authorities nodded directly to the proposed news. This move is looked at as a win-win for both countries.
UPI is amongst the most successful real-time payments (RTP) systems globally, providing – simplicity, safety, and security in P2P and P2M transactions in India. It is the most popular payment mechanism in India and the recent news said that Nepal will also be accepting this. This is a great move and will benefit both countries in transactions. The better the volume of transactions, the better will it indicate and benefit the growth of the country.
The benefits are endless and will help all the people across the borders who indulge in regular payments across larger boundaries of the land.
FAQs
Is UPI made in India?
Yes, the UPI platform and technology is designed in India and is regulated by RBI.
Who regulates UPI in India?
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) regulates UPI in India.
How many UPI users are there in India?
There are around 300 million active monthly users of UPI in India.
There is a high chance that you don’t remember the last time you used ‘cash’ for a transaction at a Kirana store. The world is changing and it is becoming cashless, not a new thing but more like the new normal.
The shift from cash to cashless is so welcomed all over the world that it has become the new normal. Tech in transactions is the most in-demand technology and has proved to be really penetrative in every society.
The most famous technology is the UPI. It stands for Unified Payments Interface. It is the most favourite bridge that enables transactions all over India. We all know this and we see just this aspect of the story. However, that is not all. Behind the scenes, a lot of fights happen for customers and numbers. UPI apps are almost always constantly at war. In this article, we talk about these apps and what is the issue that they deal with. But first, the basics.
UPI or the Unified Payments Interface is the most famous bridge of transactions in India. It is fast and secure which makes it the perfect alternative for cash. Handling cash is hard, handing a UPI is not hard at all.
Immense growth was led by UPI last year, which recorded more than INR 73 Lakh Crores in 2021. Moreover, a year-on-year rise of over 110% as opposed to INR 33.87 Lakh Crores transaction in 2020.
UPI is a system that has the ability to attach multiple bank accounts with a smartphone application. That application can be later used to transact with the bank that the user uses. This makes it easy to go cashless when your bank account is linked to the UPI app in your pocket. It’s like taking the bank in your pocket.
Benefits of UPI
You can send money almost immediately through any smart device and even a basic buttoned device.
UPI is available at any hour and any day of the year.
As the name suggests, UPI is a unified payment method that enables a user to add more than one bank account to the application.
2FA is more than easy in this process. 2 FA stands for two-factor authentication which is easily managed with a UPI pin along with the inbuilt app pin.
UPI is easy because it saves you the time of writing details like Card number, IFSC code and all the bank page clutter.
Total Transactions of UPI Apps in India
UPI is the future of payments, or should we say the smart present of payments. The numbers point in this direction as well. We see that just in the first month of this year, UPI transactions touched the cap of 461 crores. Those crores transactions totalled to be worth about 8.31 Lakh Cr.
The topmost player surprisingly was not Google Pay, In terms of market share PhonePe carried out 21,403 Crore transactions. Those mentioned transactions were worth INR 4.05 Lakh crore in the first month of the year.
The new entrant in the payments market, WhatsApp Pay saw the value and number of transactions grow to great magnitudes. The overall share of the company however is as low as 0.03 percent which entails about 13.4 lakh transactions in the first month. Those transactions were reported to be around 205 Crore in Indian Rupees.
In the month of January, the UPI transactions were recorded to hit the number 461 crore. Those transactions in the month touched the magnitude of 8.3 lakh crore in Indian rupees, equivalent to 111 billion dollars.
This number was not usual in any sense and was the highest recorded number in the history of UPI transactions. Even after this number is the highest in the magnitude of UPI transactions, it grew only about 1 percent month on month. This is in no doubt a jump and halt situation.
Noticing the surge in transactions and magnitude in the UPI sector, it was also noted that app performance had not grown that much. App wise, the growth was not new, it was the previous pace that continued and no jump was noticed in the app sector.
Apps performance recorded a single digit of growth in this month on month. Even in this segment, PhonePe was the winner that carried 4.05 lakh crore transactions. Google Pay, which most people were anticipating, did not come to the first resort. It was the second runner up in the race of UPI transactions. That maintained to get some transaction value that was worth almost three lakh crores.
The third number, in terms of transactions and magnitudes, was won by the Indian player that is also now a publicly listed company. Yes, you guessed it right, it is Paytm. Paytm saw a transactional rate of 85 thousand crores which was a fall from before. Amazon pay got transactions that were worth about 67 hundred crores. WhatsApp, the new entrant in the payments market touched the 205 crores of transactions with its messaging app which is now a UPI payments app too.
Among all these numbers, one thing is common, that thing is UPI. It is the transaction that everyone is looking at and it is also the point of conflict of many multinationals.
UPI war is on with all the players in the market. The goal is to get maximum density in markets and to get a viable customer experience that can increase loyalty. Before we read more about the ongoing UPI war let us read some important words in the UPI market. Basically how the UPI world works.
There are many technical terms that can confuse a noob when we talk about technology. The UPI world is also not an exception. Let us talk about a few things that the UPI entails before we read more about the UPI war.
VPA ID
VPA or virtual payment address is the virtual address of someone. As the name suggests, it is the address to which payment in a transaction can be directed. To begin a transaction, one has to share their virtual address to which the payee can direct the payment.
The payer has to confirm the VPA by entering the MPIN, or mobile pin, to be sure that it is an authentic translation and is done by the owner of the bank account. Once checked, the transaction is completed and a change in balance is reflected, without any delay.
QR code
QR code is a better alternative for VPA IDs, these are codes that can be scanned via a mobile device. Stores have these types of transaction mechanisms that help in the easy collection of payments from buyers.
They can be scanned from the UPI app itself and transactions can happen easily. This is easy and faster than sharing VPA IDs and most smart stores have them as a payment aid.
QR Code Scanner
Several Bank Accounts can be added using the UPI app and Several VPI Ids can be maintained. A maximum of 20 transactions is allowed in 24 hours. All transactions take place on a real-time basis.
The Mobile Number
Most people in India are not tech-savvy and this is a hindrance in payments via UPI. Even if someone sets up a VPA and UPI Id on a shopkeeper’s device, he won’t know it and would not remember it.
UPI apps save the day with one more feature. Mobile numbers can also direct payments to the right address. This feature was enabled recently and has massive use cases.
Every mobile number now is connected to the bank account of the holder and can serve as a UPI or VPA ID. They are known as linked MMID and can direct payments to the right bank account.
Bank Credentials
Another factor in payments of UPI is the bank credentials themselves. You can manually enter the saving account number and/or the IFSC code to the UPI app and the app can direct payments to that specific account. This is however not the best alternative to transactions but is popular in India.
NFC
New smartphones nowadays come with a new technology called NFC. NFC is an audio technology that is contactless and can connect two devices. This connection can also help in UPI transactions and is authenticated by both ends. According to RBI guidelines, one can interlink all their existing KYC compiled e-wallet accounts. But, only a few apps provide this service.
Market Share of UPI Apps and the Ongoing UPI War
A Detailed Look at the UPI App War
The UPI apps we are talking about, have their own territory. Market share refers to that territory in this context.
PhonePe
Last year the UPI app with the most wins was PhonePe. This year the war continues. PhonePe won on all the key metrics that there is to track payments. Be it the value of transactions, registered users and all the merchants’ average.
While PhonePe’s count of transactions remained the same, the volume of transactions rose to 48.7 percent. The startup has been the leader in the market with over 46 percent market share in the transactions volume processed last year. This metric proves the dominance that the UPI startup has gathered.
PhonePe’s share in transactions counts remained the same but the volumes transcended a big jump and it rose to about 48 percent. The company also claimed that the ‘registered users’ have crossed the 350 Million mark. They also mentioned that they were witnessing a 28 percent month on month growth from January to December 2021.
PhonePe is the first payment platform in India. Based out of Bangalore, this UPI payments app became the heartthrob of payers. The company collaborated with Yes bank to get into the UPI space and captured about 37 percent of the new market in India. Later, the company was acquired by e-commerce giant Flipkart. It is soon to be added as a valid payment option in Walmart India’s “B2B Cash & Carry Stores”.
They had the first movers advantage in many aspects. Just like the google pay (Tez earlier) app, the PhonePe app has a lot of features that make them stand out. With the money transfer limit using UPI set to ₹1 lakh, one can pay credit card bills too. An outstanding UI is a cherry on top.
Google Pay
Next in the line of market shareholders is the most household name of Google pay. They didn’t witness significant growth. The market share for google pay dropped from 37.5 per cent to 34.4 percent. According to an NPCI guideline, all third party UPI apps have to add a cap to the value of their transactions at 30 percent by December 2023. This can be good news for this fall in the market share of the US fintech giant.
With great goodwill at the back, Google really stands on a pedestal. The google pay UPI app is by far the most famous UPI payments app in India. Google has always remained a top innovator in every part. Any of the Google services can be relied upon. The name Google itself stands for efficiency and simplicity. The Google Play app has also made it easy for app users to use proximity features. They have NFC enabled in the app.
The payments app from google has all the features that it takes to make it the best UPI app out there. With online trade being a fast option for most people, google play also includes more than 2000 merchants partners in India alone. In India, Google pay is the second-largest UPI payments app with a market share of 35 per cent. It entails figures like 320 Million transactions in terms of volume and 61000 crores in terms of value being the guns on its trajectory.
The app really features loaded and has every feature of a top-notch character. Carrying the ‘Simplicity’ thing that google has managed to carry on all its services and apps, the UPI app has managed to get the second most UPI payments in the country.
PhonePe and Google Pay were the topmost choices of UPI payments in the last year. We will discuss the rest later, let’s focus on the war of these two first.
Paytm
Paytm is another famous name in the UPI segment. It has an inbuilt feature of wallet which can be used without KYC and bank account, this is one of the most unique features that the app has. It is also a differentiator. The war of UPI apps has led Paytm to get a share of almost 6% in the UPI segment. This is rather small but the app has a lot of potentials. The primary rivals are Google Pay and the leader PhonePe.
Paytm was the first digital payment service provider that had its hands on Indian territory. The homegrown brand is the largest digital wallet service provider in the country. The app is known to have dominated the cashless payments market. The company also claims that they have more downloads across Android and IOS than most UPI payments apps. The initial problems that the company faced were the UI and the acceptance of digital payments in India.
After updates and updates with learning’s and learnings, the Paytm app has improved much and now comes with an excellent UI. The app first lost in the war of UI and user experience but the overall performance has been quite impressive. It is the most famous homegrown UPI app in India. Founded by Vijay Shekhar Sharma and being a homegrown company, the startup has a lot of leverage that adds to its revenue.
Paytm is one of the easiest to use UPI apps out there and not only that, the app offers a long list of features. There is a unique wallet feature, then there is a Paytm bank, then a mall on your phone, it is also now entering the investments category.
You can pay your credit card bills, do shopping of all sorts and buy now pay later options are available too. Thus, this small package of apps offers a decent amount of features and accessibility to money and transactions. That is one of the main reasons for its market share of 6%, which is decent in India.
Amazon Pay
The next rival or participant in the UPI war is Amazon Pay. The new entrant in the market with great tech support and seamless payment options, amazon pay is out there to win.
As of November 2020, it was reported that amazon pay was the fourth most used app in the UPI segments. The app wins over everyone in terms that it is a sidekick of payments in shopping. The brand of amazon gives it a good boost. It was reported that Amazon Pay got 37.15 million transactions in volume that added to over 3600 crores in total value. Which is a pretty good sum in the segment.
Not only a shopping aid but the amazon pay app also offers payments of groceries and small buys at a Kirana store. The shopping integration of Amazon is really a great kick start but the app is also growing out of that segment too. Amazon pay got 37.15 million transactions in volume with Rs 3,624.51 Cr in transaction value in this month.
The ongoing war is nothing but a fight of features and like-ability. The app that has the most unique and helpful factor wins the game and takes the customers. All the top players in the market which we discussed above have their own set of features and uniqueness. Here we will try to uncover what lies behind the bush of differentiators.
PhonePe
PhonePe, the most used UPI app in terms of volume, is bound to have awesome features and traits. The startup has made its app look really different and simple. The app is capable of linking various accounts and e-wallets to itself.
You can link free charge, Jio money, and e-wallets like Airtel wallet to your PhonePe account. The app also allows people to pay credit card bills within the app which saves a lot of hassle.
The users of PhonePe can even buy gold with the new update. Cashback and rewards are the most common features of UPI apps in the market. PhonePe has that, without mentioning it. The app follows all the guidelines of UPI payments and thus, one can make a transaction of upto 1 lakh. The app also has the basic categories of regular payments like electricity, gas broadband, data card and the like.
Bill payments and recharges are very easy on PhonePe and there exists a separate icon for money transfer from bank accounts. You can check bank balances too and they are super attentive to negative feedback. Which makes it the all-rounder UPI payments app.
Google Pay
Google Pay is another famous app. The UPI app from Google runs on the same principle as of the parent company Google. The app is simple and works every time without any hassles. However the wallet option is not available, the app does work overtime to make it right for users. You just need a mobile number and a bank account to start your payments. It is easy and reliable.
You can chat with a person on google pay before and after any transactions. The User interface and the experience that it entails is also top-notch. Payment services are available across all the Google services and they can also be used to 3rd party apps. There exist extensions like Zomato, Swiggy, Groww and etc. within the application itself. It is the first to use NFC technology. DTH, broadband, landline, mobile recharges are also reminded to the user. The app is secure and has a safety shield feature too and users can also enable biometrics.
Paytm
The app comes with an excellent user interface now and is completely made in India. Which makes it a famous application among Indians. The app has one of the most differentiating features of a wallet that helps it find a good product-market fit in the UPI segment. Many people who do not operate a bank account can go with this feature of e-Wallet. Paytm Payment Bank is linked with Rupay Virtual Debit Card.
Due to all the features and an excellent UI, the app works in most locations. From a small Kirana store to big malls, Paytm is accepted. You can even invest your money directly from the app itself. Paytm services range from bank to mall to mutual funds etcetera.
Amazon Pay
Amazon Pay is also a famous app because of its parent company, Amazon. The app first originated as a payments app for nearby UPI payments. Now the app has grown into a full-feature app on its own. It is a great aid in shopping for people who love to shop.
Apart from that the app also makes it possible to use it as a UPI payments app. This was the unique feature with Amazon pay but it is not that famous like Google Pay and others.
The reason is that many people don’t know about it, Amazon customers just use Amazon to buy something and forget about their account. Once this barrier is lifted, the Amazon pay app can be a big disrupter in the online payments market.
UPI Guidelines and Regulations
When the online market in the payments sector is booming, it becomes important that the market is regulated. NCPI has come forward to make some guidelines for UPI payments. Here we will discuss some of the most notable ones. These are the guidelines for TPAP, or third party app providers.
NPCI’s guideline had asked all the third-party app providers (TPAP) to cap their transaction value at 30% by December 2023. This means that UPI payment apps like PhonePe and Google Pay now need to rescue their market share. As per NPCI, the upper limit for UPI is Rs. 1.00 lacs.
The Third-party app provider guidelines for TPAP guidelines are also aimed to prevent oligopoly and to promote competition. Competitions will be healthy for the overall market and it has the ability to make the market a little better than before for everyone. These guidelines were also the reason why WhatsApp has a very small UPI share in the whole market. WhatsApps share is equal to 0.08 percent.
Adding to the guidelines above, The NPCI has also disallowed WhatsApp from leveraging its payment platform. They have ordered a cap of 50 crores. This means that Whatsapp payments will not go above the magnitude of 500 million dollars or 50 crores. It is to be noted that WhatsApp had around 487 million registered users in India last year. In 2021, it had 390 million active users growing 16% year on year in India alone.
It was recently seen that the messaging app WhatsApp is entering the payments market which makes people suspicious. WhatsApp was also made to put a cap on their payments feature to prevent monopoly over the market. Their users were limited to 20 million. But now the revised relief says that the company can double down the users of the payment, NCPI said.
Now the cap is reported to be 40 million and WhatsApp has done really well in the past financial year. In January, last month, WhatsApp recorded a total of 23.4 Lakh transactions. That was worth INR 205 Cr. It also entailed a 9% month-on-month growth (highest among the top four, mentioned in the article).
RBI has mentioned that about 50% of the transactions through UPI were below INR 200, thus, a framework to enable small value digital payments in offline mode has been announced. Users will now be able to make small transactions (within 200 rupees) offline (without the use of the internet). We will now be able to channel transactions without any instruments such as cards, wallets and mobile devices in any UPI app.
100% of post office banks will come under the core banking umbrella to boost financial inclusion. The move is aimed at giving access to post office bank accounts through net banking, mobile banking, ATMs, and also provide online transfer of funds between post office accounts and bank accounts, During the Budget 2022 speech, Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman said.
To boost the adoption of digital banking services further and to mark 75 years of India’s independence, 75 digital banking units in districts will be set up by scheduled commercial banks, Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman said.
“This will be helpful, especially for farmers and senior citizens in rural areas, enabling interoperability and financial inclusion,” she mentioned in her Budget speech.
All the guidelines point in one direction, and that direction is the direction of a cashless future. We are all moving to a cashless world where paper money will be a thing of the past. This was not easy before but looking at the current trends and shifts in technology, it is the near future. Exciting as it gets, the UPI market in India is set for more tides and currents.
As per a report by ACI Worldwide, India retained the top spot in terms of digital transactions worldwide. India saw payments of 25.5 billion on a real-time basis. It is the highest number, followed by China.
No doubt, that the UPI market is set for growth in India and anyone capitalising on this will make real cash. This is the reason UPI payments companies are fighting for this and thus the UPI war.
Apps like PhonePe, Google Pay, Paytm and amazon pay have been fighting for market dominance and the market is evenly distributed in most parts of India. Besides growing in India, the Unified payments interface is all ready to enter overseas as well, reports say. UPI will be prevalent in countries such as the USA, the UK, Japan, China, Singapore, etc.
FAQ
Which are some of the Indian UPI apps?
Phonepe, Paytm, and BHIM are some of the UPI apps based in India.
Are UPI apps safe?
Yes, UPI apps are completely safe as it is regulated by the Reserve Bank of India & NPCI.
Which payment app is the best?
Google Pay, Paytm, Phonepe and Apple Pay are some of the best payment apps.
We have witnessed many digital payments for paying off our expenses via Google Pay or PhonePe. Additionally, Our Honorable Prime minister Narendra Modi has launched e-RUPI, a seamless cash payment for Covid-19 Vaccination in India on 2nd August 2021.
e-RUPI is a contactless digital payment solution that is done by a QR Code or SMS based e-Voucher to all mobile users. Over and Above, e-RUPI is an e-voucher one-time digital payment mode with three benefits- Cashless & Contactless digital payment, Ensures leak-proof delivery of various welfare services and connects the beneficiaries servers without any intermediaries involvement.
e-RUPI is introduced as a hassle-free e-voucher digital payment, where beneficiaries don’t need a card, digital app or even internet banking to redeem the voucher. Because it is done through e-RUPI where vouchers are transferred into QR Scan or SMS for an effortless method to endure the service of the voucher.
e-RUPI is a cashless and contactless digital payment mode, which is done by decoding the code of the cards which is shared via SMS or the QR code. e-RUPI is the first digital currency in India with an aim to spurn the leakages in Government. It is done via redeeming payments through e-vouchers that are in the form of QR codes or SMS.
Many Indian Citizens find it so difficult to pay spontaneously on any such expenses, For instance, if you are in a line and billing for those products and getting a physical form voucher on the product which you have bought.
Meanwhile, next time on availing the voucher services, you find dilate in processing the payment neither in swiping card nor digital payments app. Therefore, the National Payments Corporation of India along with the department of financial services, National Health Authority developed e-RUPI in order to meet the expenses through e-vouchers in the nature of the prepaid model. So, if you receive a voucher then automatically you can store it in an electronic form- QR code or SMS-based.
When it comes to who can use e-RUPI, as it is said above, the government makes these e-vouchers in order to create funds for other welfare services. So, ultimately e-RUPI is accessible for healthcare services. Furthermore, businesses or corporations can issue e-RUPI to their employees.
e-RUPI doesn’t only benefit the receivers of the token but also the corporates and hospitals. The beneficiaries of this digital payment system include all the major stakeholders relating to this scheme.
Corporates
According to the National Payments Corporation Of India (NPCI), the corporates will benefit largely from this scheme. They can look after the welfare of their employees. The corporates would benefit from cost reduction while using this digital payment as this works on end-to-end digital transactions and doesn’t require physical issuance.
The issuer being corporates can track the voucher redemption. During this global pandemic, everything has made us focus on the safety of our lives. This digital payment mode allows for quick, contactless and safe voucher distribution.
Hospitals
It is a difficult task to stand in long queues in hospitals and pay for the service as it takes time to use a card or cash. This can lead to major inconvenience during these times. So the NPCI has made the authorization of these vouchers easy and safe by doing it using a verification code.
e-RUPI also solves the problem of usage of cards or cash by making the payment collection hassle-free and contactless. The redemption process of the e-RUPI is quick as it can be redeemed in a few steps and the chance of decline rate is less as there is a pre-blocked amount.
End-Users
e-RUPI, the electronic voucher digital payment system is mainly made for the welfare and well-being of the people of the country. The official NPCI website lists the various benefits the consumer of the end-user of the e-RUPI will reap.
This payment is contactless and digital. The beneficiary shouldn’t carry a printout of the voucher. The consumer can redeem his voucher in a two-step process making it easy, quick and time-saving.
The beneficiary isn’t required to share personal details on the redemption of the vouchers making it a safe and secure form of payment as privacy isn’t compromised.
For the redemption of the vouchers, the consumer does not need a digital payment app or a bank account making it accessible to many who don’t have a bank account.
Banks are supported by e-RUPI
e-RUPI is launched by NPCI in association with the Department of Financial Services (DFS), National Health Authority (NHA), Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW) and partner banks.
Banks support e-RUPI, unlike other digital currencies making this voucher digital payment mode easy and trustworthy. The banks that support e-RUPI are Axis Bank, Bank of Baroda, Canara Bank, HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank, IndusInd Bank, Indian Bank, Kotak Bank, Punjab National Bank, State Bank of India and Union Bank of India.
Conclusion
e-RUPI is an initiative by the government in connecting people’s lives through technology. India is progressing to a transparent and digitalized country. e-RUPI as a replacement for cash is seen as a big step that is favorable and necessary in the growth of the country.
e-RUPI guarantees safety as people do not have to carry cash or be worried about losing their cards while trying to avail themselves of essential services. e-RUPI can also route the subsidies the government gives on education, agriculture and nutrition. e-RUPI if worked effectively can be helpful to the people of the country in their dire times.
FAQ
What is e-RUPI?
e-RUPI is an electronic voucher digital payment mode, where the physical form of a voucher is transferred into electronics like QR Code or SMS-based, where you can access the services without any card or internet banking to redeem it.
Who launched e-RUPI?
The National Payments Corporation of India along with the department of financial services, National Health Authority developed e-RUPI which was promulgated by Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi to the citizens on 2nd August 2021.
What are the benefits of launching e-RUPI?
The government of India launched e-RUPI because to serve the beneficiary services to welfare services such as Mother & Child health care, Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana and other welfare centres, where the e-voucher become a benefit element in extending much more purpose in the society.
As the fight against the contagious coronavirus continues, this world seems like a changed place. This pandemic is going to leave an everlasting effect on consumer behavior, with concerns shifting towards health and safety. Various guidelines have been published on how to continue with daily life without the fear of contracting the virus. This had made one thing clear- A contactless tomorrow is not just a remote possibility but is also a necessity. People are reassessing their ways of interacting with different organizations, demanding a whole new contactless experience. Here are a few practices that will help the business to ensure a contactless experience to it’s customers.
1. Contactless Deliveries
With the e-commerce organizations resuming their operations post this pandemic, consumers would feel safe with the deliveries only if it was contactless. Contactless deliveries can be executed in a myriad ways. It depends on the type of business, kind of item purchased, and environmental conditions of delivery. The organizations must be ahead of time in giving their customers a positive experience in a contactless market.
practice contactless delivery
i) Gaining Consumer Trust
The organization’s first step in such unprecedented times should be to ensure its customers about the safety measures being undertaken to give them a contactless experience. Different companies must have designed their own guidelines for different scenarios, but regardless of what those guidelines might be, expectations must be established with customers much ahead of time.
ii) Clear Communication
The business must maintain clear communication about the delivery,i.e. When, where, and how the item will be delivered. Unlike normal deliveries, contactless deliveries demand more transparency. There should be alerts when the order is processed, dispatched, or delivered. In other words, there are countless scenarios in which a business can respond to different situations. But the bottom line is that there must be clear communication and specificity between the business and the consumer.
Contactless payment is a way to pay for goods and services without using credit cards, debit cards, or hard cash. Normalcy in life is surely going to be hard to achieve post-pandemic. Unlike debit cards and credit cards, contactless payments never touch the point of sales thus making it one of the safest methods of payments for the current situation. thus, creating a contactless payment market would be a wise choice for all the businesses.
There are a number of ways in which proper contactless payments can be done with the help of some payment providers. Most of the organizations already use all such payment methods and for such businesses who were not using these payment methods much actively, this could be a great opportunity for introducing those features. The following are examples of different payment providers.
a) Apple Pay
Apple pay is a preprogrammed app called ‘wallet’ present on IOS mobile phones. There is no need of downloading any extra app because all of the transactions can be managed by apple pay itself. Users can feel secure using the app as it is one of the safest payment methods.
b) Samsung Pay
This contactless payment method is used py Samsung mobile users where one can carry all their debit cards, credit cards, or membership cards all in one place. It allows the user to pay online, in person, or in the app.
c) Google Pay
Google pay is another popular form of contactless payments used for users who do not have any in-built app on their mobile phones for online transactions. Users can feel confident as the transactions are protected with fingerprint, passwords, face-locks.
d) Paytm
Paytm helps the user to transfer money instantly at zero cost using the ‘Paytm wallet. This app can also be used for payments for online recharge, utility bill payments, book travel, or event tickets. The most appealing part about these payment methods is that the user gets gift coupons and vouchers regularly.
e) PhonePe
PhonePe is another famous contactless payment provider that ensures its users a seamless payment experience. Users can easily transfer money, pay utility bills, recharge phones, buy gold, and shop online as well as offline.
iii) Benefits of Contactless Payments
There are countless benefits of contactless payments not just in times like these. These payment methods, not just help the consumer but also allows the businesses in several ways.
a) It is More Secure than Regular Payment Methods
These are authenticated payment methods and are safer than regular transactions through debit and credit cards. The bank details provided by the user are encrypted which makes it hard to breach.
b) Quicker Checkouts
In this fast-tracked world, people want to get their work done faster. With contactless payments, you can speed up the check out process which benefits both the customer and the business. It rids you of returning the change and even saves you from entering pins of different devices.
c) It allows the Business to handle Customers smoothly
When a business reduces its time for completion of a transaction, it also attracts more customers. By providing contactless payments, a business can improve its customer experience and make them feel safe and confident in such hard times.
Conclusion
As we navigate this unprecedented crisis together, it’s important that all the sectors work together as a team. We hope that these research notes shed some light on the contactless customer experience.
The fast spread of the novel coronavirus has led to a global lockdown hitherto unfathomed. The on-going situation has now become one of the biggest threats to economies and financial markets all over the world, and is leading us towards a global recession. The spread of the coronavirus has impacted the purchasing power of people. We are apprehensive of exchanging traditional currency i.e. notes and coins, to minimize contact. In such a situation, digital contactless payments are gathering a new found attention in these times. Also, countries across the globe are taking numerous measures to maximize digital contactless flow of currency. The culture of digital contactless payments is only going to expand as time passes. This article covers the rise of digital contactless payments post the COVID-19 pandemic.
Status of Digital Contactless Payment
The COVID-19 pandemic stopped almost all possible transactions in the beginning. But over the last couple of months, digital payments have picked pace. People are now resorting to digital payments for purchasing all kinds of utilities. Many merchants have witnessed a significant rise in digital contactless payments across different modes. Statistics point towards a rise of around 30% in the role of digital transactions in revenue generation. Several reports attest to this. According to a report from Statista which talks about the impact of the coronavirus (COVID-19) and its consequent lockdown on Indians, a majority of respondents reported no or very less change in their use of digital payments. However, 33 percent said they used digital payments more than before, while nine percent made online payments exclusively.
Different modes of Digital Contactless Payment
The different digital payment modes that one can opt for in the current circumstance include:
1. QR Code
QR code or Quick Response Code-based payment is a modern payment system that has become pretty popular during the period of COVID-19 pandemic. People can simply scan a QR code with the help of their smartphone to pay for items like fuel, grocery, utility bills, fuel, food, travel and several other services. QR codes facilitate instant payments and that too using fool-proof security payment technology. Whenever a customer requests to pay via the QR code, he or she needs to just scan the QR code of the respective merchant. This scanning helps in automatic entry of the merchant’s details and leaves you with only having to type the purchase amount. After this, you are ready for the payment. Just click on the secure payment tab and watch the transaction happen in a jiffy.
2. UPI
Unified Payments Interface (UPI), developed by National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI), is an instant payment system which relies on your bank account. Whenever a customer requests the UPI payment mode for transacting, the merchant provides his or her unique UPI ID. After this, the customer needs to enter the UPI details of the merchant. The customer can also verify the details displayed on the payment portal. The customer is then ready for making the payment. Just click on the secure payment tab and it’s done! This is also linked with the QR code of the merchant.
Payment gateway is a merchant service provided by different e-commerce platforms and ensures that sensitive information (such as credit card details) passes securely through various channels when entered into a virtual terminal or an e-commerce website . At present, e-commerce establishments are strongly focusing on payment gateways as they refrain from entertaining cash-on-delivery payment orders.
The Near Field Communication (NFC) feature is a new technology in the e-payment sector that allows you to make contactless payments to retailers. Customers can choose to pay via their contactless credit/debit cards or through a Tap & Pay feature provided by banks via a mobile application; you simply tap on your smartphones.
5. Prepaid cards
Closed-loop prepaid cards are the ones that can only be redeemed at the merchant who issued them. On the other hand, “semi-closed loop cards” or “restricted open-loop cards” are similar to shopping centre cards which can be redeemed at various merchants but only within the shopping centre. These cards can be swiped/inserted at the PoS terminal for top-up/withdrawal purposes. You need to enter your pin for completing the payment. This is done for security measures.
Ashwini
PV Vyshnavi
