NPCI launches voice-enabled UPI payments, other features; Check details

The launch of the new products comes a day after NPCI chief Dilip Asbe said at a fintech event that UPI had the potential to reach a couple of billion transactions a day by 2030

National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) has launched a slew of new payment features to enable more digital inclusivity, according to a report by The Economic Times (ET).

The new products include a credit line on UPI, UPI Lite X for offline payments and a near field communication (NFC)-enabled Tap & Pay feature, conversational payments through Hello! UPI and conversational bill payments with BillPay Connect.

In August, while announcing the monetary policy committee's decision to keep the repo rate unchanged, Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor Shaktikanta Das proposed enabling "Conversational Payments" on UPI.

Infosys chairman Nandan Nilekani, who was present at the launch of the products, said that the NPCI ecosystem will potentially revolutionise the country as it shifts from an offline, informal economy to an online, formal hybrid economy as millions of people join the digital network with mobile connections.

The launch of the new products comes a day after NPCI chief Dilip Asbe said at a fintech event that UPI could reach a couple of billion transactions a day by 2030 and scale almost ten times. 

Credit line on UPI

UPI will allow users to pay for transactions through credit through its new credit line service by connecting pre-sanctioned digital credit lines from banks. Also, the payment flow will be the same as the existing UPI transactions.

Third-party payment providers HDFC PayZapp, Paytm, and Google Pay will be the first to launch the 'credit line on UPI' service.

On September 5, Asbe said that the 'sachetisation of credit' is coming, and India's credit market will grow tenfold by the end of this decade.

UPI Lite X and Tap & Pay

UPI Lite X for offline payment will let users send and receive money while being completely offline. This will allow UPI transactions in flights, underground metro stations, and other merchant locations.

UPI Lite X is an extension of UPI Lite, which allows users to make small-ticket transactions without entering a pin.

The UPI Tap & Pay feature allows users to make near-field communication (NFC)-based payments. This follows the launch of new variants of Pine Labs and Paytm's point-of-sale (PoS) devices that allow merchants to accept NFC-based merchants.

Conversational Payments – Hello! UPI & BillPay Connect

Through the launch of Hello! UPI and BillPay Connect, NPCI will allow users to make voice-enabled UPI payments via UPI Apps, telecom calls, and IoT (Internet of things) devices in Hindi and English. NPCI is also looking to launch the service in regional languages as well.

RBI governor had earlier stated that the central bank has issued instructions to NPCI regarding enabling conversational payments through UPI. 

Users will be able to fetch and pay their bills on a messaging app through the BillPay Connect feature. Also, users without smartphones or immediate mobile data access will be able to pay bills by giving a missed call.

In August 2023, UP recorded over 10.5 billion transactions within a single month, up from 9.96 billion in July.