In the world of digital payments, India’s UPI is making waves all over the world. Its popularity is increasing continuously. Along with this, the work of making it easier is also going on continuously. National Payment Corporation of India (NPCI) has added a new feature. NPCI has provided the facility of voice mode payment through UPI, that is, now payment can be made easily through UPI by saying ‘Hello UPI’ on the mobile. This new facility ‘Hello UPI’ has been launched by RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das at the Global Fintech Fest. Currently this facility has been introduced in Hindi and English but soon it will be introduced in other regional languages. NPCI said that the Hello UPI facility will help consumers make UPI payments through UPI apps, telephone calls and voice through Internet of Things devices. The user will no longer need to manually input commands to transact through UPI. They can easily talk to the AI-powered solution to complete the payment.
Target to take digital payments to the people
The process of making payments has become even simpler with the new facility of voice transactions through UPI. Its purpose is to connect consumers with digital payment. NPCI believes that the new features of UPI are aimed at bringing digital payments within the ambit of millions of people who are unable to use it due to lack of smartphones, internet connectivity and limited digital literacy. NPCI said, the objective of the solution is to bridge the digital payment gap for 11.4 crore households at the bottom level in India. These people live largely in rural or sub-urban areas and earn less than Rs 100,000 a year.
No need of smartphone or internet
Making voice payments on UPI does not require a smartphone or internet connection. Therefore, people living in rural areas can access these facilities through their feature phones. Currently, a limit of Rs 100 has been kept for making payment through voice mode through the facility of Hello UPI. According to NPCI, before payment, customers can take approval from the bank by using credit line.
New facility will be available in two ways
This new facility will be available in two ways – oncall (through voice call) and in-app (through any UPI app). The on-call feature will allow users to dial a number where the user will be welcomed and guided through IVR to complete the payment process. The in-app feature will allow users to use their voice input on any UPI app to make payments. Additionally, the device will recognize the verbal request, and respond to the request.
UPI facility started at 6,000 ATMs of Bank of Baroda
Bank of Baroda (BoB) has started UPI ATM facility at its 6,000 ATMs across the country. According to the statement issued by BOB, it is the first public sector bank in the country to launch UPI ATM operated by NCR Corporation in coordination with National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI). The bank said that customers of its and other banks can withdraw cash from Bank of Baroda UPI ATMs without using their debit cards through the UPI-enabled mobile app.