Talk & Pay: NPCI Launches New UPI Offerings With An Eye On 100 Bn Monthly Transactions

In another major push for digital payments in the country, Reserve Bank of India (RBI) governor Shaktikanta Das on Wednesday (September 6) launched multiple new UPI products at the Global Fintech Fest 2023. 

The new offerings, built by the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI), included credit line on UPI, near-field communication (NFC)-based offline payment modules UPI LITE X and Tap & Pay, and conversational payment products Hello! UPI and BillPay Connect. 

In a statement, the NPCI said the products aim to create an inclusive, resilient, and sustainable digital payments ecosystem in the country. The launches are in line with the central bank’s earlier announcements. 

The move is part of the NPCI’s bid to achieve 100 Bn monthly transactions in the near future and to bring more Indians into the fold of digital payments.

Lauding the UPI ecosystem, the RBI governor said it has facilitated digital payments for small merchants, leading to greater financial inclusion.

“The UPI has played a phenomenal role in the fintech revolution in India. Its success story has in fact become an international model… UPI has also spurred innovation in the fintech space, leading to the growth and development of other payment systems,” said Das while addressing the gathering. 

The event also saw NPCI advisor and IT veteran Nandan Nilekani and NPCI non-executive chairman Biswamohan Mahapatra in attendance. 

The Digital Payments Push

Making waves at the launch were two conversational payment products launched by the NPCI – Hello! UPI and BillPay Connect, which are based on human-machine interaction and are facilitated by AI-enabled transactions.

Hello! UPI allows users to give voice commands to transfer funds and input UPI PIN through the UPI app, telecom calls, and IoT devices in Hindi and English. The feature is expected to be soon rolled out in other Indian languages as well. 

The product has been built in partnership between the NPCI and Bhashini program (AI4Bharat) at IIT Madras. 

“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,” the NPCI said.

Meanwhile, BillPay Connect allows users to fetch and pay bills through voice commands on their smart home devices. Feature phone users or offline users can also use the product by messaging or calling a pan-India single number to fetch and pay their bills. Afterwards, they will receive an immediate call back for verification and payment authorisation. 

Credit line on UPI was the other product launched today which will enable users to avail pre-sanctioned credit lines from banks through UPI. The launch came days after the RBI allowed scheduled commercial banks to offer credit lines to their customers through UPI.

As per the NPCI, the product will expand access to credit and foster a more streamlined and digital banking ecosystem. The payments corporation expects the process of availing, connecting, and utilising credit lines to significantly expedite and will enable banks and fintechs to create new and niche digital products. 

“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,” said NPCI. 

UPI LITE X and Tap & Pay, built at the intersection of NFC and offline payments, were the other products launched today.

Through UPI LITE X, offline users can make digital payments of up to INR 500 to anyone with an NFC-enabled compatible device. Meanwhile, UPI Tap & Pay allows customers to simply tap NFC-enabled QR codes at merchant outlets to complete their payments.

Meanwhile, fintech major Paytm announced its partnership with NPCI to launch products such as credit line on UPI, Billpay Connect and UPI Tap & Pay on its app. 

“As pioneers of mobile payments, we are proud to partner with NPCI to enable the launch of innovative new features like Credit Line on UPI, Billpay Connect and UPI Tap & Pay. Bringing these offerings first to our users, we will take Paytm UPI to the next level, driving further adoption,” said a Paytm spokesperson.

The developments come just days after UPI achieved a major milestone of 1,000 Cr monthly transactions in August 2023. The slew of offerings have been introduced with an eye on scaling monthly transactions on the UPI network to 10,000 Cr in the near future.