WhatsApp Payments is almost here, shows up on WhatsApp Beta — Gizmo Times — “The latest WhatsApp beta version has started showing the Payment option in the attachments list. The payments will be through UPI (Unified Payments Interface) but for now, it is only showing the list of banks and also the bank account that is linked, but the account is not getting added. This indicates the final stage of inclusion of WhatsApp payments system on the Android app.”
Unified Payments Interface (UPI)
Indian government sets out plans to make digital payments ‘visibly cheaper’ than cash
Govt to incentivise online payments to push digital transactions — Hindustan Times — “The incentives could include cashbacks and reward points for BHIM users… The note presented last week by the ministry of electronics and information technology to Parliament’s standing committee on finance detailed a five-step road map to push e-transactions. ‘Digital payments to be made visibly cheaper than cash,’ the note said.
Paytm to invest US$1bn in building out its payments business
Paytm plans $1 billion top-up to cash in on note ban success — Times of India — “Sharma said they were looking at a three-pronged strategy to double the number of users in the coming year by converting Paytm users to its payments bank, tap into non-wallet users through UPI and sell financial products from next year. ‘Long ago, we realised that standalone payments as a business is an orphan and thus we are building a bouquet of products,’ Sharma said.”
Google to enter mobile payments market in India
Google to launch payment app ‘Tez’ in India — The Ken — “Google is expected to partner ‘several large private banks in India’ for its payment product, Tez. Besides its own UPI-based service, Google is expected to integrate third-party payment wallets such as Paytm and MobiKwik among others on its platform.”
Mahindra Comviva expands payment options for merchants in India
PARTNER NEWS: Mahindra Comviva has enhanced its PayPlus mobile POS solution to enable Indian merchants to accept payments via Aadhaar, Bharat QR, UPI, card and mobile wallets through a single interface... More
Google gearing up to enter mobile payments In India by integrating Android Pay with UPI
Google gearing up to enter mobile payments In India by integrating Android Pay with UPI — Inc42 — “Google is developing a separate India-focused app, which it will name differently, in integration with a bank. It is expected that Google will launch a UPI-enabled app within the next two-three months for mobile payments. If this happens, it could be a big boost to given that Android is the dominant operating system in India.”
Paytm Payments Bank to join the UPI bandwagon in August
Paytm Payments Bank to join the UPI bandwagon in August — Economic Times — “The newly-launched Paytm Payments Bank will go live on the unified payment interface (UPI) by August… This will allow its customers to transact using a virtual payment address issued by the bank. The payments bank will be the latest to join the UPI bandwagon, with 50 banks already live on the platform.”
Indian messaging unicorn Hike moves into payments, taking notes from Tencent’s WeChat
Indian messaging unicorn Hike moves into payments, taking notes from Tencent’s WeChat — CNBC — “India’s home-grown instant messaging service Hike on Tuesday announced wide-ranging updates to its app, including a new mobile wallet that lets users send and receive money instantly… The Hike Wallet has several features, including a linkage to the government-backed unified payments interface.”
Digital India: UPI-based transactions grew more than 20 times since demonetization
Digital India: UPI-based transactions grew more than 20 times since demonetization — BGR — “UPI is now one of the most widely used mobile payments systems, and could reach 100 million users in a few years… UPI’s monthly transaction value shot up from $15 million before November 8 to $359 million by the end of the financial year (March 2017).”
Google and Stripe eye a slice of UPI pie in India
Google and Stripe eye a slice of UPI pie in India — Economic Times — “Google is preparing to introduce its digital wallet, Android Pay, in India this year, anchoring the platform to the government-backed Unified Payments Interface as are other global companies including Stripe and WhatsApp… Google has started testing UPI on its Android Pay platform, said one person aware of the developments.”
Mahindra Comviva explores the evolution of digital payments in India
The most obvious recent change in the payments landscape across India is the significant increase in the number of digital payments taking place in both urban and rural areas as a result of the measures taken by the Indian government to push the cashless initiative to the top of the nation’s agenda, says Mahindra Comviva’s senior vice president and head of mobile financial solutions. More
WhatsApp to launch UPI-based payments in India?
Messaging app WhatsApp is exploring India’s Unified Payments Interface (UPI) platform “among other payment modes” for launching a P2P mobile payment service in the country... More
Samsung Pay goes live across India with support for Paytm and UPI money transfers
Samsung Pay has launched in India with support from Visa, Mastercard, American Express, Axis Bank, HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank, SBI Cards and Standard Chartered Bank, with Citibank India support expected “shortly”. The service has also integrated India’s leading mobile wallet Paytm and comes with support for peer-to-peer money transfers through the Indian government’s Unified Payments Interface platform. More
India opens way for direct mobile wallet transfers?
Indian mobile wallet users could soon be able to transfer money directly to each other, regardless of the service they use, if the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) goes ahead with plans to open up the Unified Payment Interface (UPI) platform to mobile wallet providers... More
NPCI, Mastercard and Visa unveil standardised QR code mobile payments for India
Indian consumers can now make QR code-based mobile payments using BharatQR, a “low cost, interoperable mobile acceptance solution” backed by the Indian government and developed by Mastercard, Visa and National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI)... More
Indian mobile wallets seek common QR code
Indian mobile wallet providers have approached the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) to identify how to develop a common QR code for NPCI’s Unified Payment Interface (UPI) platform... More
Indian government unveils sweeping proposals to reduce the use of cash
The Government of India has introduced a series of incentives designed to encourage consumers and businesses to adopt digital and mobile payments and significantly reduce the use of cash in the economy — including plans to encourage banks to introduce one million point-of-sale terminals by March 2017, rising to two million by September... More