Google signs deal to take UPI beyond India
Google Pay is to take India’s real-time payments system to other countries after signing a deal with the scheme’s manager. More
Unified Payments Interface (UPI)
National Payments Corporation of India launches NFC-enabled QR codes and contactless voice payments on UPI
The National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) has unveiled a suite of United Payments Interface (UPI) services that includes UPI Tap & Pay NFC-enabled QR codes, QR code-enabled ATM withdrawals, the addition of support for offline NFC payments to the UPI Lite X digital wallet, and Hello... More
Central bank to add support for NFC to India’s UPI Lite digital wallet service
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) is to add support for NFC payments to the country’s UPI Lite digital wallet, enabling users to conduct transactions on their smartphone even when there is no internet or mobile connection... More
India to pilot digital rupee for payments in stores
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) is to build a prototype digital rupee and test it in a range of scenarios and use cases as part of its “phased implementation strategy” for introducing a central bank digital currency (CBDC)... More
Google Pay lets users in India make contactless mobile payments directly from their bank account
Google Pay users in India can now choose to make in-store mobile payments with their Android NFC smartphone directly from their bank account using the country’s Unified Payment Interface (UPI) real-time mobile payments service... More
Delhi Metro lets passengers top up their transit cards at fare gates
Passengers travelling on Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) services in India can now top up their contactless AutoPe DMRC transit cards at the network’s automatic fare collection gates... More
One in three Indian households now use digital payments
A third of Indian households across a range of income groups now use digital payment methods, but “this can easily go up to 50% given high desire to use,” research from the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) and People Research on India’s Consumer Economy (PRICE) reveals... More
India increases contactless limit by 150%
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) is to raise the limit for contactless card transactions from Rs2,000 (US$27) to Rs5,000 ($67.67) from 1 January 2021, an increase of 150%... More
NPCI creates new company to take India’s UPI and RuPay global
The National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) has announced the launch of subsidiary firm NPCI International Payments Limited (NIPL) with the aim of exporting its Unified Payments Interface (UPI) real-time mobile payments service and RuPay domestic payment card scheme to global markets... More
Reliance Jio pilots NFC and QR payments in India
Indian telecommunications giant Reliance Jio has begun piloting Jio Pay, a new UPI-enabled payments service which includes support for both NFC and QR mobile payments... More
India’s bank-led UPI instant payments platform reports 1bn mobile transactions
“UPI has had the fastest acceptance rate not just among payment platforms but digital platforms of any kind,” Dilip Asbe, chief executive officer of the National Payments Corporation of India, has told Bloomberg... More
Google Pay reports 67m users in India
“In the last 12 months alone, we’ve grown more than three times to 67 million monthly active users, driving transactions worth over US$110bn on an annualised basis, with hundreds of thousands of offline and online merchants,” Caesar Sengupta, vice president of Google’s next billion users initiative, has revealed... More
India to mandate QR mobile payments in stores?
QR code option may be must for shops — The Times of India — “The government is looking to mandate a QR code-based payment option using UPI at all shops. The measure is intended to promote digital payments as the preferred option.”
Facebook to launch WhatsApp mobile payments ‘in a number of other countries’ this year
Despite still being only in a test phase in India, mobile payments via Facebook’s WhatsApp instant messaging platform will launch in more markets this year, according to Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg... More
Amazon launches P2P payments in India
Amazon Pay launches person to person (P2P) payments through UPI for Android customers — Amazon — “Customers can use this functionality to settle bills/expenses with friends, lend/return money to family, pay rents, pay for services like house-help, newspaper bills, milk subscription and more. Customers can also make payments from their bank account to local stores nearby or to [an] Amazon delivery associate at [the] doorstep by scanning UPI QR codes using the Amazon app.”
Xiaomi expands its Mi Pay mobile payments service to India
Xiaomi announces official Indian launch of Mi Pay — GSMArena — “Back in 2016, Xiaomi launched Mi Pay in China and followed that up by launching a beta trial in India. Testing is finally complete and Indian users get full access to Mi Pay. The platform is built on the Unified Payments Interface (UPI) in collaboration with National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) and ICICI Bank and supports more than 120 banks.”
Apple Pay hits launch hurdles in India
After Amazon and WhatsApp, Apple orders ‘stop payment’ — The Economic Times — “Silicon Valley giant Apple has shelved plans to launch a Unified Payments Interface-based payments platform in India after landing in a regulatory grey zone that has stalled the full rollouts of similar products by Amazon and WhatsApp as well. Apple put the brakes on introducing Apple Pay in the country despite holding discussions with a few leading banks and the National Payments Corporation of India, which manages the UPI platform, said two people with knowledge of the matter.”
Xiaomi to launch Mi Pay mobile payments in India?
Chinese firm awaiting RBI approval to start India operations — The Hindu BusinessLine — “According to sources, Chinese mobile smartphone maker Xiaomi is ready to launch its payment service, Mi Pay, in the growing Indian payments market. Xiaomi, currently India’s second-largest smartphone seller, has already conducted trials and testing of the UPI service, and is awaiting RBI approval for the launch, said two sources.”
WhatsApp to roll out QR payments in India
WhatsApp payments now supports QR codes: How it works — Hindustan Times — “As WhatsApp prepares for the official launch of its payment service, it has been releasing new features. The latest feature allows users to scan QR codes to send money.”
Google adds chat feature to Tez mobile payments app
Google integrates chat option on Tez payments app — Economic Times — “Google has integrated a chat option in the Google Tez application and is slowly rolling it out to its 13.5 million active users, taking the competition directly to WhatsApp… The payment application which runs on the Unified Payments Interface railroads will now allow consumers to not only send money to each other but also open up an option for conversation around the transaction.”