Tag: upi

WhatsApp Reportedly Testing International Payments via UPI for Indian Users

WhatsApp could be working on enabling international payments via its in-app Unified Payments Interface (UPI) service, as per a new leak. WhatsApp Payments or WhatsApp Pay was first introduced for Indian users as an in-app service in November 2020. The platform’s entry into the payments sector was considered delayed as rival platforms were already established by then. Now, the popular messaging platform is tipped to add international payments with a limit of up to three months in order to boost the user base of its financial service.

The information about the feature was shared by tipster @AssembleDebug who said in a post on X (formerly known as Twitter), “International Payments on WhatsApp through UPI for Indian users. This is currently not available for users. But WhatsApp might be working on it as I couldn’t find anything on Google about it.” The tipster also shared screenshots of the feature but did not reveal which beta version added it.

In the screenshot, a new option can be seen in the Payments menu underneath the Forgot UPI PIN option. The tipped feature is labelled International payments and when clicked, it opens a separate screen where users can choose the start and end dates for the feature and turn it on. As per the screenshot, users will be required to enter the UPI PIN to turn on the feature.

International payments allow users with an Indian bank account to send money to select international merchants and complete transactions. The feature will only work in countries where banks have enabled international UPI services. In India, international payment via UPI automatically expires, after which it needs to be activated manually again. As per the tipster, this period in WhatsApp could be three months. In contrast, Google Pay offers a transaction period of seven days. Notably, Google Pay, PhonePe, and some other major players in the UPI space already offer the service.

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Paytm Gets Third-Party UPI App License From NPCI as Payments Bank Ceases Operations

Indian digital payments firm Paytm, formally known as One 97 Communications, was on Thursday granted a third-party application provider license by the country’s payments authority, which will enable it to facilitate payments after its banking unit ceases operations.

The license will allow customers to continue using the Paytm app for payments through India’s popular unified payment interface (UPI), after Paytm Payments Bank ceases operations by March 15, following regulatory action due to non-compliance with certain norms.

Axis Bank, HDFC Bank, State Bank of India and Yes Bank will act as payment system provider banks to Paytm, the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) said in a statement.

Yes Bank shall also act as a merchant acquiring bank for existing and new UPI merchants for Paytm, it added.

Paytm has been advised to complete the migration for all existing handles and mandates, wherever required, to new payment system provider banks at the earliest, the NPCI said.

UPI is India’s real-time payments system that allows users to transfer money across banks.

Paytm, the third-largest app for UPI payments in the country, processed 1.41 billion monthly transactions worth 1.65 trillion rupees in February, down from 1.57 billion transactions worth 1.93 trillion in January, according to data on the NPCI website.

PhonePe and Google Pay are the two largest UPI payment apps in India.

Last month, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) had asked the NPCI to examine a request from Paytm to become a third-party application provider.

Early this week, Reuters was the first to report that the NCPI was likely to approve a third-party application provider (TPAP) license for Paytm.

© Thomson Reuters 2024

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Jio Payments is Reportedly Testing Soundbox For Merchants, Could Launch in 2024

Jio Payments is reportedly testing a new product that will mark its expansion into the merchant payments solution segment. The payment gateway and solution arm of the telecom behemoth is said to be working on a soundbox for merchants. The Jio Soundbox is reported to function as an audio payment verification device, similar to devices by Paytm, PhonePe, and BharatPe. The company has already conducted two pilot projects with the device and could launch the Soundbox by the end of 2024.

According to a report by The Hindu Business Line, Jio Payments is looking to enter the soundbox segment to further expand its payment solutions offering. The company already offers its payment gateway, point-of-sale devices as well as a Unified Payments Interface (UPI) platform and a biller platform. This would further extend Jio’s reach into the market as it can offer its entire payment solution stack as a package.

The report highlights that Jio Payments has conducted two runs of the pilot project in tier-2 cities and smaller metro cities such as Jaipur, Indore, and Lucknow. With the successful completion of the pilots, the devices are now showing up in Jio’s retail outlets in tier-1 and metro cities. The Jio Soundbox reportedly functions similarly to devices by Paytm and PhonePe.

It is believed to get the form factor of a small speaker and sends audio alerts for successful payments. Further, the report highlighted that the soundbox can double as a point-of-sale unit with the merchant’s QR code added on top of it.

The public launch of the soundbox is reported to occur within eight to nine months, which means there is a high chance that the device will be unveiled in the ongoing calendar year. The revenue model of the Jio Soundbox is expected to follow the same template as its competitors with an upfront fee followed by monthly subscription charges. For reference, the standard Paytm Soundbox comes at the price of Rs. 1, and a monthly charge of Rs. 125. At launch, PhonePe’s soundbox was priced at Rs. 50 and had a monthly subscription fee of Rs. 50. While the price or subscription fee of Jio Soundbox is not known, it is likely to be kept along the same lines.

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RBI Moves to Ensure UPI Transactions on Paytm Continue to Work After Strictures on Paytm Payments Bank

The Reserve Bank of India said on Friday it has asked the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) to examine a request from Paytm, formally known as One 97 Communications, to become a third party application provider (TPAP).

If approved, this would allow Paytm to continue processing payments via India’s popular unified payments interface (UPI), but will need a set of newly identified banks to back the app.

The NPCI should facilitate four to five banks, with an ability to process high volumes of UPI payments, to act as service providers to Paytm, the RBI said of Friday.

“No new users are to be added by the said TPAP until all the existing users are migrated satisfactorily to a new handle,” the RBI said.

Last month, the central bank asked Paytm Payments Bank, an associate of Paytm, to wind down its business by March 15, leading to disruption for the popular payment app, which used the banking unit at the back end.

Paytm is the third largest app for UPI payments in the country, processing 1.6 billion monthly transactions, according to data available on the NPCI website. PhonePe and Google Pay are the two largest.

To keep Paytm QR codes running, the company may open settlement accounts with one or more banks, the RBI said.

Paytm said last week it had signed on Axis Bank to act as a banking partner.

© Thomson Reuters 2024

(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)

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Google Pay to Roll Out SoundPod With Audio Alerts to Merchants in India After Year-Long Pilot

Google is rolling out the SoundPod — the company’s wireless speaker that can verify payments received over the Unified Payments Interface (UPI) instant payment system — to small merchants in India, the company announced on Thursday. The company started testing the device as part of a limited trial last year and has revealed that the rollout will take place later this year. Google Pay rivals PhonePe and Paytm — the latter faces RBI strictures over non-compliance with multiple rules — already offer similar products for merchants in the country.

In a blog post on Thursday, Google VP of Products for Google Pay Ambarish Kenghe announced that the company’s SoundPod would be rolled out to small merchants in the country “over the coming months”. During Google’s year-long trial of the SoundPod in India, the firm received positive feedback from merchants who participated in the trial, including faster checkouts, Kenghe said.

The SoundPod is equipped with an LCD screen and a single speaker. It supports 4G connectivity, according to Google. It has three LED indicators to show battery, charging, and connectivity status of the device, and features menu, volume, and power buttons.

The SoundPod has an LCD display and speaker that face the merchant
Photo Credit: Google

 

Paytm’s ‘Soundbox’ speakers offer between four to 12 days of battery life and feature 2G or 4G connectivity — two models are equipped with LCD screens, while another supports music playback over a Bluetooth connection. On the other hand, PhonePe’s SmartSpeaker offers up to four days of battery like on a single charge and supports multiple languages.

While the company hasn’t offered a concrete timeline for the arrival of the SoundPod in India, rivals like Paytm and PhonePe offer similar audio devices that are already in use by merchants across the country. Merchants also pay a monthly subscription — between Rs. 50 to Rs. 125 — to access these audio-based announcement service.

Google says that merchants will be able to choose between two subscriptions for the SoundPod — a Rs. 499 one-time fee followed by a Rs. 125 monthly subscription plan, or an annual subscription priced at Rs. 1,499. Merchants won’t have to pay the one-time fee when choosing the annual plan. Customers who receive 400 payments in a month via QR codes will get a guaranteed Rs. 125 cashback, according to the company.

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Google Pay, NPCI Sign MoU to Expand UPI Globally, Aim to Ease Digital Payments Abroad

Google Pay and National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) will work together to expand Unified Payments Interface (UPI), the instant payments system widely used in the country, to international markets, Google and NPCI confirmed Wednesday. A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) has been signed between Google Pay India and NPCI subsidiary, NPCI International Payments Ltd (NIPL), to bring the instant payment functionality to other countries. UPI has become a widespread mode of digital payment throughout India in recent years, with interoperability between payments apps like Google Pay, PhonePe, and Paytm. The value processed via UPI payments in 2023 stood at Rs. 167 lakh crores, according to Google.

The MoU signed between Google Pay India and NIPL primarily seeks to ease digital payments abroad for travellers outside of India. The collaboration will also aid in establishing a UPI-style digital payments infrastructure in other countries, a press release for the announcement said. Additionally, Google and NPCI also aim to leverage the UPI infrastructure to ease the process of remittances between countries, thus simplifying cross-border financial exchanges.

“UPI has demonstrated to the world the step change that happens in economies with the introduction of interoperable, population scale digital infrastructure and each economy that joins such networks will create impact beyond the sum of parts,” Deeksha Kaushal, director of partnerships at Google Pay India said.

According to the press release, the initiative will also help bring Indian customers to foreign merchants, reducing the need for credit or forex cards and instead allow UPI apps like Google Pay for international digital payments. “This strategic partnership will not only simplify foreign transactions for Indian travellers but will also allow us to extend our knowledge and expertise of operating a successful digital payments ecosystem to other countries,” Ritesh Shukla, CEO of NPCI International Payments Limited, said.

Last year, Google Pay introduced a UPI Lite feature on its platform that enables small-value digital payments with just one tap, without the need to enter the UPI PIN, as required in regular transactions. UPI Lite supports a maximum instant transaction of up to Rs. 200 at a time. Users can load their UPI Lite account with up to Rs. 2,000, twice a day.

In August, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) increased the UPI Lite transaction limit from Rs. 200 to Rs. 500. The overall wallet limit, however, was retained at Rs. 2,000 only. A month later, NPCI said that UPI transactions had crossed the 10-billion mark in August. According to the NPCI data, number of UPI transactions stood at 10.24 billion on August 30. In value terms, the transactions amounted to Rs. 15,18,456.4 crore exchanging hands.

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Google Pay Said to Begin Collecting Convenience Fee on Mobile Recharge Transactions

Google Pay has reportedly begun charging users a convenience fee when they purchase a mobile recharge plan via the app’s unified payments interface (UPI) service. After years of allowing users to recharge their prepaid plan and pay bills at no additional cost, it appears that the company has joined rival payment platforms Paytm and PhonePe in charging users for prepaid recharge payments made via Google Pay. The search giant is yet to make an announcement related to the introduction of convenience fees on its payment app.

A user recently reported on an online forum that Google Pay has begun charging a convenience fee for mobile recharge plans on the payment service. A screenshot shared by the user shows that Google added a Rs. 3 convenience fee to the Rs. 749 prepaid recharge plan from Jio. The screenshot indicates the convenience fee is inclusive of GST. The user adds that the convenience fee shows up for both UPI and card transactions.

Google Pay levied a Rs. 3 convenience fee on the Jio recharge transaction
Photo Credit: Desidime/ ankushthehero123465

 

Tipster Mukul Sharma revealed additional details of the convenience fees for the platform via X (formerly known as Twitter). Mobile recharge plans worth less than Rs. 100 will not be charged a convenience fee, while recharge plans that cost up to Rs. 200 and up to Rs. 300 will be charged Rs. 2 and Rs. 3, respectively, according to Sharma. Transactions worth more than Rs. 300 will charged a Rs. 3 convenience fee.

MySmartPrice spotted that the company updated the Google Terms of Service for users in India earlier this month and a Google Fees appears to address the new convenience fees. However, it is unclear whether the section was added recently as part of the November 10 update. “Fees may be applied to certain Transactions or use of Google Pay Services which include but are not limited to mobile recharges,” the section states. Google’s terms state that users will be notified of applicable fees before the transaction is completed.

The updated terms of service also states that fees might be determined by the company at its own discretion — Gadgets 360 staff members were not shown the additional charge when attempting to purchase Airtel and Jio recharge plans on Thursday.

It appears that purchasing recharge plans via the operator’s website is the only way to avoid convenience fees. It is worth noting that Google Pay isn’t the first payment service provider to charge additional fees for transactions. These charges were previously introduced by rivals Paytm and PhonePe, similar to other online services for ordering food online or booking movie tickets, as a means to monetise their payment platforms. 

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Paytm Launches Card Soundbox That Accepts Both Mobile and Card Payments

One97 Communications, which owns the brand Paytm, on Monday launched its latest innovation – Card Soundbox, which is intended to empower merchants to accept both mobile and card payments across all Visa, Mastercard, American Express and RuPay networks.

UPI payment system has become hugely popular for retail digital payments in India, and its adoption is increasing at a rapid pace.

These card-based payments on ‘tap and pay’ basis will help merchants scale their business. With Paytm Card Soundbox, the company solves two problems for merchants — accepting card payments along with instant audio alerts for all payments.

Paytm was the first company to launch audio-based confirmations with Paytm Soundbox in 2019.

“The launch of Paytm’s unique device will transform in-store payments by expanding payment acceptance for merchants by combining Soundbox with NFC or contactless debit and credit card payments with mobile payments. An industry-first solution, the new Soundbox provides both audio and visual payment confirmation through an LCD display to the merchant and the customer,” Paytm said in a release.

Paytm Card Soundbox has a built-in ‘tap and pay’ functionality through which merchants can accept card payments up to Rs 5,000.

The Made in India device, powered by 4G network connectivity, has a 4W speaker, and battery life of five days.

Designed keeping the diverse merchant base in mind, the device offers alerts in 11 languages that can be changed by the merchant through ‘Paytm for Business’ app.

Moreover, with Paytm Card Soundbox, users with NFC-enabled smartphones can also pay through their phones using the tap feature.

“Paytm has always been at the forefront of innovating for India’s small businesses, solving their payments and financial services problems. Today with Paytm Card Soundbox, we take it to the next level. We have found that merchants and consumers need card acceptance as simply as mobile payments with Paytm QR Code,” Vijay Shekhar Sharma, Founder and CEO, Paytm, said.

“The launch of Card Soundbox will go a long way in merging the two requirements of merchants – mobile payments and card payments,” Sharma added.

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SBI Introduces UPI Interoperability With eRupee CBDC for Seamless Transactions

The State Bank of India (SBI) has announced the implementation of Unified Payments Interface (UPI) interoperability with the Digital Rupee, also called as Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC).

With this move, SBI aims to deliver convenience and accessibility to its customers. This feature, accessible through the ‘eRupee by SBI’ application will empower users to effortlessly scan any merchant UPI QR code for transactions.

SBI was among the first few banks to participate in the RBI’s retail digital e-rupee project.

Unified Payments Interface (UPI) is India’s mobile-based fast payment system, which facilitates customers to make round-the-clock payments instantly, using a Virtual Payment Address (VPA) created by the customer. UPI payment system has become hugely popular for retail digital payments in India, and its adoption is increasing at a rapid pace.

“The seamless integration of CBDC with UPI marks a significant leap for the bank, enhancing the acceptance and utilization of digital currencies in everyday transactions,” said SBI in a release. “Bank feels that this integration will be a game changer for the digital currency ecosystem.”

“By bridging the gap between CBDC and the extensively used UPI platform, SBI aims to revolutionize payments made in India. With this move in the realm of digital payments, the future of CBDC integration appears promising,” it added.

The digital rupee, also called as Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC), was launched by the Reserve Bank of India on a pilot basis on December 1, 2022. In the Union Budget 2022-23, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced about rolling out of the digital currency called Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC).

CBDCs are an electronic form of a sovereign currency. As is the case with cash, it will not earn any interest but can be converted to other forms of money, like deposits with banks.

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RBI to Deploy eRupee CBDC Payments via UPI QR Codes Soon: All Details

India may take the next big leap in its eRupee central bank digital currency (CBDC) venture any day now. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) could soon facilitate CBDC payments via existing UPI QR codes. The deployment of this interoperability element to the eRupee CBDC has been in the pipeline for a while now. Since UPI scanners are already widely used around the country for instant online payments, their acceptance of CBDC payments would bring an ease to using India’s national digital currency.

During a G20 event last week, representatives from the RBI had said that the ability to facilitate CBDC payments via UPI QR codes will be deployed at the end of the month, Doordarshan had reported at the time.

As per the report, an announcement on CBDC payments via UPI is expected around the end of July and could arrive in the coming days. Once the service is live, retailers accepting India’s CBDC as a payment option, would just have to extend their existing QR codes to their customers and let them scan them for payments to go through.

At present, multiple large state-owned and private lenders, including State Bank of India, Bank of Baroda, ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank, Kotak Mahindra Bank and Yes Bank, are participating with the RBI in the ongoing CBDC trials.

Select small, medium, and big level merchants are also helping the RBI test how smooth CBDC transactions could be in a real-life retail setting. Indian billionaire Mukesh Ambani’s chain of retail stores are also accepting CBDC payments in Mumbai since February this year.

CBDCs function like cryptocurrencies, but they are regularised and issued by the central banks. Digital currencies not only smoothen online payment systems, but also reduce dependency on cash notes.

The pilot for the retail digital rupee was launched in Mumbai, New Delhi, Bengaluru and Bhubaneswar on December 1, 2022.

Amid ongoing eRupee trials, RBI governor Shaktikanta Das recently said that CBDCs will bring a fundamental change in the currency system we are accustomed to today.

Das has reportedly predicted that CBDCs would become popular globally, just like UPI is popular in India.

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