The Reserve Bank of India (RBI), in collaboration with the National Payment Corporation of India, launched UPI 123Pay on 8 March.
This service allows people who have feature phones to use UPI to make payments without the internet.
How to use UPI 123Pay? What's different? And why is it important? Here's all you need to know:
Do I need internet to use this feature?
No internet is needed to access this mode of payment. However, it is mandatory to link the bank account with the feature phone.
In which languages can I access the feature?
It is available across various Indian languages, including Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Bengali, Marathi etc.
How does UPI 123Pay work?
It is a three-step process that involves: Call, choose, and pay.
Once the phone and bank account are linked, the person is required to set a UPI PIN.
This is done using their debit card.
Once the PIN is set, the user can use their feature phone to make transactions.
What should I do to transfer money?
The user is required to call on the IVR number and select on which service the transfer is required: LPG gas, mobile balance, FasTag recharge, or transfer from one number to another.
One has to enter the phone number of the person, and then enter the amount.
Following this, the person has to enter UPI PIN.
How to use this feature with Missed Call?
The user can dial a missed call on the number displayed at the merchant's.
The customer will then receive an incoming call asking them to confirm the transaction.
They can do this by entering their UPI PIN.
Is there an option to scan and pay?
No, the option to scan and pay is not there on UPI 123Pay.
Why is this beneficial?
UPI 123PAY service will enable more than 40 crore feature phone users to access the popular digital transaction platform without an internet connection.
This new mode of digital payments will allow individuals to make direct payments to others with the help of UPI via feature phones.
Currently, the UPI payment facility is restricted to only those who have smartphones with internet connections.
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