UPI for feature phones launched, no internet connection need: how it works

“UPI123Pay will digitally empower millions across the country and help NPCI achieve its dream of billion-plus daily UPI transactions,” said Biswamohan Mahapatra, chairman, National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI).

How does UPI for feature phone work?

UPI123 Pay will allow feature phone users to make transactions via UPI. All features except the scan and pay option will be available on feature phones as well much like smartphones. Interestingly, the new digital payment mode doesn’t need an internet connection for transactions. Individuals need to link their bank accounts with feature phones to use UPI 123Pay facility. It has options for various payments- such as person to person to the merchant. UPI 123Pay will be available in Hindi and English.

“We believe the innovative functionalities offered on feature phones will provide a push to UPI in various geographies across the country and will transform the way payments are perceived,” Mahapatra added.

As said, UPI has become one of the most used payment systems in India in recent years. In terms of volume transactions, it is said to be the single largest retail payment system in India. “While we have been growing impressively in digital payments, a large part of digitisation is limited to people with smartphones. There are about 40 crore feature phone users who had limited access to digital payments,” said T Rabi Sankar, RBI deputy governor.

“This move is to further popularise the use of digital payments has proposed to introduce a framework for retail offline payments across the country. The background of this announcement comes from a series of successful pilot tests. The learning of these tests strongly suggests that there is more wiggle room for digital payment-related solutions, especially in the remote parts of the country. With this development, the RBI is optimistic about increasing the ease of doing business in India along with more innovative fintech opportunities to capitalise on,” said Nitin Mathur, CEO, Tavaga Advisory Services.