Unified Payment Interface (UPI), launched on 11 April 2016, is an online payments system launched in India to allows multiple bank accounts belonging to any participating bank to be controlled via a single mobile app having number of banking features, facilitating seamless and secure fund transfer and merchant payments at a single platform.

Peer to Peer fund request and transfer has been introduced with the UPI using mobile app first time.

Now an upgraded version UPI 2.0 is launched in Mumbai by National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) along with some banks and Reserve Bank of India members. RBI governor Urjit Patel, State Bank of India (SBI) chairman Rajnish Kumar and Nandan Nilekani, the non-executive chairman of Infosys who is also the innovation advisor at NPCI launched UPI 2.0.

NPCI controls all retail payments in the country, manages the UPI platform that facilitates instant fund transfer between two bank accounts on a mobile platform, without requiring details of the beneficiary’s bank account.

Existing Features of UPI

1. Instant money transfer facilitated 24×7 via any mobile device
2. Single aap can be used to access multiple bank accounts
3. Security of “Single Click 2 Factor Authentication”, which combines strong security and smooth access of a payment via a single click
4. Virtual address eliminating the need of providing card number, IFSC, account numbers etc. providing incremental security
5. The app lets one to share bill with friends
6. Single Application Merchant Payment and easier In-App Payments
7. Registering complaints directly via the Mobile App

New features of UPI 2.0

1. Linking of overdraft account: In new version, customers can link their overdraft account to UPI along with their savings and current account.
2. One-time mandate: Customers can pre-authorize a transaction and pay at a later date.
3. Invoice in the inbox: According to NPCI, this feature is designed for customers to check the invoice sent by merchant prior to making payment. It will help customers to view and verify the credentials and check whether it has come from the right merchant or not. Customers can pay after verifying the amount and other important details mentioned in the invoice.
4. Signed intent and QR: This feature is designed for customers to check the authenticity of merchants while scanning QR or quick response code. It notifies the user with information to ascertain whether the merchant is a verified UPI merchant or not. This provides an additional security. Customers will be informed in case the receiver is not secured by way of notifications, said NPCI.

As per NPCI, UPI 2.0 member banks as on date are State Bank of India (SBI), HDFC Bank, Axis Bank, ICICI Bank, IDBI Bank, RBL Bank, YES Bank, Kotak Mahindra Bank, IndusInd Bank, Federal Bank and HSBC.

As per Mint, BHIM UPI recorded transactions worth INR 45,845 crore and 235 million in terms of value and volume in the month of July 2018.

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Digital payments, e-wallet and financial services platform, MobiKwik, has integrated Unified Payments Interface (UPI) on its platform via its own VPA (Virtual Payment Address) handle @ikwik.

MobiKwik has its own customized VPA handle “@ikwik” for making payments unlike existing UPI based services offered by non-banking entities.The company has claimed that safety has been given utmost priority in MobiKwik UPI app and users can be rest assured about their data security, even in case of loss of SIM or device.

MobiKwik is the first in the industry to offer UPI access to a huge base of 3 million merchants on its app. It is also amongst the first few in the industry to offer Bharat QR, UPI QR and Intent Functionality for merchant payments.

Additionally, all MobiKwik users will be able to do P2P bank transfers using UPI. The company claims that its UPI app is 100% in compliance with the NPCI guidelines and is the most secured UPI app till date as per NPCI.

MobiKwik’s users can use their mobile number as their own VPA which will be ‘@ikwik’. They will also be able to link multiple bank accounts with just one VPA and can change primary account as per their requirements. Users can simply scan and generate UPI QR functionality to send and receive money using VPA and phone number from the contact list. If the receiver is also registered in Mobikwik UPI ecosystem, sender can send money by selecting his contacts from the phone book without remembering VPA domain. It will also be possible for users to request money using UPI on the MobiKwik app.

On this development, Bipin Preet Singh, Founder and CEO, MobiKwik, said, “Our strength lies in user experience, the wide network of merchants and the numerous daily life use-cases we power. We intend to provide all payments options, including wallets, virtual cards and UPI, to ensure convenience across our user base. Mobikwik will be first player of scale to include all inter-operable features in its UPI launch app. We believe that with UPI on our platform, we will be able to empower our users with the power of transferring between bank accounts in an extremely safe and simple manner. With the roll out of UPI, we expect a reduction in the usage of debit cards and internet banking on the MobiKwik app, as UPI will offer a better user experience. Keeping in mind our reach on the merchant side, we hope to substantially increase momentum of merchant transactions on UPI. We will be adding more payment options for the benefit of our users in the times to come.”

Promoted by the Government of India, UPI powers multiple bank accounts into a single mobile application of any participating bank, merging several banking features, aimed at offering seamless routing of fund and merchant payments from this single platform.

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UPI (Unified Payments Interface) enabled WhatsApp (acquired by Facebook) Payments feature is already live for beta users in India, however it is not rolled out for every WhatsApp user till now.

If this feature is rolled out for every WhatsApp users in India in coming days, then let’s know how to add banks/bank account to your WhatsApp, and how to send/receive money to your peers/friends and vice versa?

As reported, this feature is available on WhatsApp version 2.18.21 for iOS, and version 2.18.41 for Android.

The payment option uses the UPI interface, which is regulated by the Reserve Bank of India through its payment subsidiary NPCI (National Payments Corporation of India) – a regulatory body responsible for all retail payments in India.

Since WhatsApp is the peer-to-peer payment option, you can’t use this for merchant payments. Using this payment option i.e. UPI enabled WhatsApp, money will be directly debited from and credited to your account. Once your contact number is linked with the bank account and UPI, there is no need to enter the VPA (Virtual Payments Address) or bank account number or IFSC code. The same applies to your friends or peers in the WhatsApp group.

Requirement to do WhatsApp Payments

1. Latest version of WhatsApp app on your phone
2. Both sender and receiver should be running the latest WhatsApp version as well as have WhatsApp Payments option enabled
3. WhatsApp number should be same as your mobile number linked to your bank account with UPI option support as well

Linking Bank Account to WhatsApp Payments

1. Open WhatsApp
2. Tap on three dots on the top right corner
3. Tap on settings
4. Tap on “Payments” just below notification
5. On the next screen, tap on “ACCEPT AND CONTINUE”.
6. Verify your mobile number using SMS, tap on “VERIFY VIA SMS”.
7. App will send you an SMS and use the same and complete the verification process.

Now you will see a list of all UPI supported banks, bank name and the last four digits of your bank account.

1. Select your bank.
2. App will fetch details and show your bank account number. After this, you will see the message saying setup complete.

Change or delete bank account in WhatsApp Payments?

If you have multiple bank accounts and want to add, change or link another bank account then-

1. Open WhatsApp
2. Tap on the three dots on top right and tap on Payments
3. Tap on “add new account’ and you will see the list of banks
4. Once you select your bank account, it will fetch details and add the account
5. You can either set up this account as your primary account to send and receive payments or you can remove also
6. By tapping on bank, you will see the option of setting the bank as primary or secondary bank to receive or send payment

WhatsApp Payments – How to send money?

The best feature of WhatsApp Payments is that you can send money to your friends using individual chats, or you can send money to your friends in a group too as follows-

1. Open individual chat (to whom you want to send money)
2. Tap on the “Clip” icon and there you will find the option “Payment”, tap on it
3. If the receiver has latest WhatsApp version and bank account configured, you can enter the amount followed by a note (a message) and tap on the send button
4. It will ask you to enter 4 digits UPI pin
5. Once you enter and authenticate then the money will be sent
6. You will also get the details of the transaction from your bank as an SMS.

WhatsApp Payments – How to receive money?

As of now, this feature is not available, but it will be rolled out to all users in some time.

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If you are thinking of providing the utmost level of security to your family members and yourself, nothing can beat the contribution of insurance policies. Every living person on earth has different needs and requirements and in order to fulfill each demand, it is always safe to have a financial backup from Life Insurance Corporation of India. Moreover, for continuing to receive the service throughout your life, you need to need to know all about LIC premium payments.

Established in 1956, LIC has the most popular and largest insurance company in India as the estimated value of the organization is approximately US$250 billion. Due to the effective and efficient policies, the organization is able to dominate the Indian market on a large scale. Spreading all across the country, the company has acquired over 2000 branches that have around 14 lakh insurance agents helping every interested person regarding LIC premium payments online.

Know about LIC and its Services

The Life Insurance Corporation of India has gained its fame due to the unbelievable services and easy LIC online premium payment. After getting the policy, you can inquire about the policy status and its unpaid premium, policy schedule and its due date, bonus status and loan status. Easing people’s lives each passing day, the policyholders can make payments through UPI, BHIM, Credit Card, Debit Card and Net banking.

Register Yourself First for LIC Premium Payment

If you are not a registered LIC member, you have to register yourself first by following few steps. You need to get the registration form from LIC premium payment at first and then create an account following certain guidelines.

• For making LIC premium payment in future, you have to choose a proper username that will have alpha and numeric with special characters including and score.
• Create a strong password for easy LIC premium payment options with 8-30 characters.
• Chosen pin code must not exceed the limit of six digits. For averting fraudulent cases regarding password hacks, you must not share your password with anyone. In this way, you can have a smooth experience on LIC premium payment portal.
• By entering a valid email ID, you can enable the services regarding LIC premium payment offers.

If you want to proceed with LIC premium payment, you have to know the status of the LIC policy first. After going through the guidelines and policy related information and registering yourself for LIC premium payment online payment, you have to log in to the online portal.

How to check LIC Policy Status?

After being done with the registration and login stages, you will have to undertake the easy process of knowing LIC premium payment details including the status.

• At first, you are required to visit the official web portal LIC premium payment and entering username and password.
• Then choose the option that indicates policy status and fill out certain details.
• The details include LIC policy number, your date of birth, amount of the LIC premium payment and registered email ID.
• After providing details, you will be redirected to a new page where you will be shown all the policies that you have enrolled.
• On the page showing enrolled policies, you will see the dates of LIC premium payment and the amount of vested bonus.
• Only by clicking on the policy number then, you are shown LIC premium payment status.

Know Status of the Policy without Having Registration

 For future use of LIC premium payment, knowing the status is essentially required and if you are not a registered user, you might face certain constraints. You can opt for a phone call or SMS service for enjoying the best of the policies continuously. Moreover, everyone is not gifted with an internet connection, for them, the phone call or SMS service can be a great option for staying updated with the due dates of LIC premium payments.

• If you have to go for LIC premium payment, you need to send message writing ASKLIC STAT for inquiring about the IPP policy status.
• In order to know about annuity amount, you will be advised to send a text message mentioning the code ASKLIC AMOUNT.
• If you are keen to know whether you are gifted with bonus, you need to send a text writing ASKLIC BONUS and pay the LIC premium payment accordingly.
• For LIC premium payment without registration, the policyholders can give a call to 12151. If you have any query regarding LIC premium payment, the phone call service can help you out on a large scale as it offers 24×7 customer support.

Using advent technology, for LIC, the sky is now the limit as it is the only one organization that has been able to capture the market growth guiding every policyholder from LIC premium statement to LIC premium payments online. The convenient service lives to make people more secure and efficient through its service.

Check top Life and General insurance companies in Newskart.

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