What Is UPI 123Pay service?

The Reserve Bank of India launched the UPI 123Pay service for non-smartphone users on Tuesday. This service will help all keypad mobile users of India. RBI aims to do one Billion transactions per day after launching the UPI 123Pay payment service feature. The big relief for keypad users or non-smartphone users is there is no need for mobile data to make any UPI payment. The rural areas of India will be connected through this UPI-based payment service.

RBI Deputy Governor T Rabi Sankar said that “ he is certain UPI for feature phones will be a gamechanger and put India’s fast-growing payment system on the global map”.  A  keypad mobile user can make instant UPI payments by using RBI’s new UPI service. Mr. Das also said that “it will help those who are in socially backward societies in terms of economic or who cannot afford a smartphone to access UPI payments.”

The Reserve Bank of India’s Governor Mr.Shaktikanta Das said at the event. “with the launch of UPI 123Pay it makes the facilities under UPI now accessible to that section of society which was so far excluded from the digital payments landscape. In that way, it is promoting financial inclusion in society,”

Apart from that, the Reserve Bank of India launched a 24*7 UPI helpline for digital payments called Digisaathi along with UPI 123Pay. In India, approximately 40 crore people users have used keypad phones or feature phones. Due to a feature phone, their choices are limited. So RBI feels important to create UPI payment systems for them so that they will be not dependable on the Internet.

As per the RBI source, Digital UPI payments are grown five times since their launch in 2016. And Indian people made approximately 453 crore UPI transactions amounting to Rs 8.26 lakh crore were done in February 2022. This number is double that people made in the previous year.

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How will users be able to make payments using feature phones?

As per the Reserve Bank of India, A feature phone user can make a UPI-based transaction in four ways through NPCI. It will offer four alternatives to users to make payments. Users can follow the provided menu option and proceed to the next.

1. The first method is UPI payment made through IVR system or Computer prompted voice-based system. A user makes a call to the number which is provided by NPCI ( National Payments Corporation of India). After calling a secured call placed with the server and following IVR voice a user can make a UPI transaction.
2. The second method is the app-based UPI transactions. RBI works on an app that will be available in all types of feature phones. All UPI-related transaction methods will be featured in this app except the scan and pay feature. This feature will be available soon and you may note that the upcoming UPI app will work without internet.
3. The third method is a proximity sound-based payment. In this method, all the UPI transactions will be made using sound wave technology, just like NFC ( Near-field communication). It will be a contactless UPI payment method, which will be unveiled soon.
4. The fourth method is a missed call-based system, in this method a user can give a missed call to NPCI number and will get an instant call back to authenticate the payment by inputting a UPI pin. After successfully entering the correct UPI pin, the user can make the UPI payment instantly.

Also,read: What is e-RUPI : e-RUPI Digital Payment, How does it work

Wrapping up

Before UPI 123Pay RBI was launched USSD (Unstructured Supplementary Service Data) based payment service which is an unsuccessful implementation in the UPI field. Through USSD services, the user can make mobile banking transactions without a smartphone or without an internet connection. 

A bank account holder can make a call to  *99#  code but this is a clunky process. It is chargeable and some of the telecom operators does not have this facility. Reserve Bank of India’s UPI 123Pay will help feature phone users to join in India’s digital revolution. Follow our Social media account for more updates on the UPI 123Pay payment service.

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