Unified Payments Interface (UPI)

Why in news?

New UPI feature lets you authorise others to make transactions from your account.

ØUnified Payments Interface (UPI) users may now be able to authorise other users to make transactions using their bank account.

ØThe primary user who is the account holder can authorise a secondary user to make transactions using their bank account up to a specified limit.

About Unified Payment System:

ØIt is a digital and real-time payment system developed by the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) and regulated by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI).

ØIt was launched on April 11, 2016.

ØNPCI launched UPI with 21 member banks in 2016.

ØIt is an advanced version of Immediate Payment Service (IMPS)- round–the-clock funds transfer service to make cashless payments faster, easier and smoother.

ØUPI is a system that powers multiple bank accounts into a single mobile application (of any participating bank), merging several banking features, seamless fund routing & merchant payments into one hood.

ØUPI operates as a digital public infrastructure, allowing seamless interactions for all players, including merchants and customers, without transaction costs.

ØUPI is currently the biggest among the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) operated systems including National Automated Clearing House (NACH), Immediate Payment Service (IMPS), Aadhaar enabled Payment System (AePS), Bharat Bill Payment System (BBPS), RuPay etc.

ØThe top UPI apps today include PhonePe, Paytm, Google Pay, Amazon Pay and BHIM, the latter being the Government offering.