RBI Governor Launches New UPI Features At Global Fintech Fest

Reserve Bank of India Governor Shaktikanta Das announced on Wednesday four new features on the Unified Payments Interface.

Addressing fintech founders and other employees at the Global Fintech Fest, Das announced the launch of credit lines on UPI, UPI Lite X, Tap and Pay, and conversational payments.

A credit line on UPI will enable banks to provide pre-approved lines of loans to individuals through the payments platform. Customers will be able to access instant credit and use these funds to make UPI payments for their purchases.

This product will include:

• Linkage of pre-sanctioned credit lines

• Creation of digital credit products by banks

• Establishment of interest-free credit periods and corresponding interest rates.

• Defined schedule of charges.

• Customer engagement channels for credit sanction requests

• Ability to link various pre-sanctioned credit lines via UPI-enabled apps for transactions.

"To ensure seamless interoperability, all UPI apps, including bank and third-party apps, will be empowered to discover and link credit lines on UPI as well as provide end-to-end customer lifecycle services," the National Payments Corp. of India said in a statement.

UPI Lite X will allow customers to make payments in areas with low connectivity, as long as they have a compatible device that is enabled with near-field communication technology. UPI Lite, which was previously launched, was aimed at low-value transactions below Rs 200. UPI Lite X will function within the Rs 5,000 transaction limit for near-field communication or NFC payments.

UPI Tap and Pay allows customers to transact using an NFC-enabled QR code at a merchant's outlet.

Under conversational payments, NPCI has released its Hello UPI product, where customers can do voice-enabled UPI payments through their mobile apps, calls, and Internet of Things or IoT devices. Currently, this service is available only in English and Hindi. Other regional languages will soon be made available, the NPCI said.

BillPay Connect will allow users to pay their bills over the phone call. This will be done through a nationalised bill payment number introduced by Bharat BillPay. Customers will be able to call this number and make payments using UPI through voice-enabled commands or by pushing digits on their phone.

"Moreover, instant voice confirmations will be enabled for bill payments made at physical collection centres through payment soundbox devices. This development aims to provide both customers and collection centres with added security and a sense of reassurance," the NPCI said.