Unified Payments Interface
Any discussion on digital money is incomplete without a discussion of the Unified Payment Interface (UPI). UPI is a real-time payment system developed by the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) for facilitating inter-bank transactions. This platform, regulated by the RBI allows instant transfer of funds between two bank accounts through a mobile platform. UPI was launched in 2016 and has been a significant step towards ensuring a cashless India.
UPI works round the clock 365 days a year and definitely scores high compared to RTGS or NEFT which works during certain operational hours and is restricted to bank working days only.
The UPI system has gained popularity over time. In 2020, UPI processed 18.87 billion transactions worth ₹31 lakh crore. The current year has already seen 34.18 billion transactions worth ₹63.2 lakh crore.
Process Flow of UPI
Transactions that can be done using the UPI system
While the UPI system allows a range of transactions, here are some of the common ones:
- Immediate fund transfer
- The transaction with multiple banks using a single mobile application
- Bill sharing
- Merchant payments
- Utility bill payments
- Donations
- Collection of money
How to use the UPI system?
Simplicity and convenience is the key while using any UPI system. The process of using the same is as follows:
