RBI launches UPI facility for phones (UPI123 pay) and 24x7 helpline for Digital Payments (DigiSaathi)

New Delhi, Mar 10 (KNN) The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has launched a Unified Payments Interface (UPI) UPI123Pay for feature phones and a 24X7 helpline for digital payments platform DigiSaathi.

While launching the two initiatives on Tuesday, RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das said UPI123Pay will help achieve financial inclusion initiative.

“UPI123Pay makes facilities under UPI accessible to that section of society which was so far excluded from the digital payment landscape,” he said at the launch. The payment system will broadly have three steps to complete transactions, he added.

At present, efficient access to UPI is available on smart phones. UPI can be accessed through NUUP (National Unified USSD Platform) using the short code of *99#.

But this option is cumbersome and not popular. Considering that there are more than 40 crore feature phone mobile subscribers in the country, UPI123pay will materially improve the options for such users to access UPI, RBI said.

UPI123Pay includes four distinct options as below:

App-based Functionality: An app would be installed on the feature phone through which several UPI functions, available on smartphones, will also be available on feature phones.

Missed Call: This will allow feature phone users to access their bank account and perform routine transactions such as receiving, transferring funds, regular purchases, bill payments, etc., by giving a missed call on the number displayed at the merchant outlet. The customer will receive an incoming call to authenticate the transaction by entering UPI PIN.

Interactive Voice Response (IVR): UPI payment through pre-defined IVR numbers would require users to initiate a secured call from their feature phones to a predetermined number and complete UPI on-boarding formalities to be able to start making financial transactions without internet connection.

Proximity Sound-based Payments: This uses sound waves to enable contactless, offline, and proximity data communication on any device.

DigiSaathi is a helpline for digital payments with facilities to educate and create awareness, Das said, adding that the platform will augment efforts in enhancing digital payment awareness. These solutions have been indigenously developed, he said.

Das said he was confident that the current decade will witness a transformational shift in the digital payment ecosystem. RBI has taken over 50 initiatives to deepen the digital payment ecosystem over the past three years, he said.

RBI has been encouraging innovation via regulatory sandbox, hackathon and other measures and the initiative launched today will further accelerate digital adoption, adding, “We still have some distance to cover and effort is to achieve even more in digital payments.”

“NPCI worked with all stakeholders and today we are ready to launch UPI123Pay for feature phones. UPI123Pay will digitally empower millions across the country and help NPCI achieve its dream of a billion-plus daily UPI transactions,” Biswamohan Mahapatra, National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) Chairman said.

The 24x7 Helpline – ‘DigiSaathi’ – provides a channel to obtain help on the entire gamut of digital payments. Automated responses on information related to digital payment products and services are available in Hindi and English through multiple options like – (a) toll-free number (1800-891-3333), (b) a short code (14431), (c) website – www.digisaathi.info, and chatbots.

DigiSaathi will assist users with their queries on digital payments via website & chatbot facility and through toll-free calls where user can dial or call out the options / products for which the information is required. More interactive options and language choices shall be enabled going forward.

The above initiatives are envisioned to accelerate the process of digital adoption in India, by creating a richer and inclusive ecosystem that can accommodate larger sections of population.