Gupshup Launches GSPay To Enable UPI Payments For Feature Phone Users

Conversational engagement platform gupshup.io has brought UPI payments for feature phone users via a native app called GSPay. Unlike the traditional UPI system that relies on internet connectivity, Gupshup.ai uses SMS to enable a seamless payment experience on feature phones.

For developing this facility, Gupshup.io is leveraging UPI 123 Pay launched by RBI and NPCI last year to enable payments for feature phone users.

In addition, feature phone users will also be able to scan QR codes to make payments, Gupshup said in a statement.

So far, solutions built on UPI 123 Pay have deployed either missed calls or an IVR-based system for making payments.

Now with GSPay, even new users can register for UPI, link bank accounts and set UPI PIN, all within the embedded app in the phone, the company said.

The app gives the option to make payments either via mobile number or UPI ID, completing the transaction in a simple two-step process. To make a payment, the user needs to enter the mobile number or UPI ID of the payee, the amount and the UPI PIN. Upon confirmation, the payment is completed and the user gets a notification.

Currently, the GSPay app is available in 12 Indian languages, including English, Hindi, Marathi, Odia, and Assamese, among others. The company recently partnered with Nokia (HMD Global) to enable GSPay on some Nokia feature phones.

Last year, RBI launched UPI on feature phones, called UPI123Pay, to allow the feature phone users to make UPI transactions without an internet connection.

“It’s called UPI123Pay because broadly there are three steps, which will take a user to the completion of a transaction. The UPI123Pay is about empowering more people to get onboarded to a digital experience through a feature phone,” RBI governor Shaktikanta Das said at the time of the launch.

Digital payments in the country have grown by leaps and bounds over the last few years, thanks to UPI. However, UPI transaction volume slipped marginally to INR 14.07 Lakh Cr in April 2023 from INR 14.10 Cr in March, after months of steady growth.

According to the NPCI data, PhonePe, Google Pay and Paytm secured a 94% market share in the number of UPI transactions processed in March 2023.

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