What is Unified Payment Interface?

National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) announced on Thursday that bank applications for the Unified Payment Interface have officially become operational, which means that UPI apps of banks can now be downloaded and used for transactions:

What is UPI and what can a user do with the app?

UPI is a payment system that allows money transfer between any two bank accounts by using a smartphone.

UPI allows a customer to pay directly from a bank account to different merchants, both online and offline, without the hassle of typing credit card details, IFSC code, or net banking/wallet passwords.

How can one download the UPI app?

The UPI app of 19 banks -- Andhra Bank, Axis Bank, Bank of Maharashtra, Bhartiya Mahila Bank, Canara Bank, Catholic Syrian Bank, DCB Bank, Federal Bank, ICICI Bank, TJSB Sahakari Bank, Oriental Bank of Commerce, Karnataka Bank, UCO Bank, Union Bank of India, United Bank of India, Punjab National Bank, South Indian Bank, Vijaya Bank and YES Bank -- will be available on the Google Play Store of Android phones in the next few days for customers to download.

Steps to get started with UPI

1. Download the app from Play Store and install in phone; 2. Set app login; 3. Create virtual address; 4. Add your bank account; 5. Set M-Pin; and 6. Start transacting using UPI

How safe is UPI?

It is safe as the customers only share a virtual address and provide no other sensitive information.

What kind transactions can be performed via UPI?

Merchant payments, remittances, bill payments among others.

Is there a per transaction limit?

The per transaction limit is Rs.1 lakh.

How exactly does one make a payment transaction?

A user can make an in-app payment for goods or services purchased online.

For instance a site allows purchase of a movie-on-demand.

User clicks buy, the site/app triggers the UPI payment link and is taken to the pay screen of the UPI app, where the transaction information is verified and a click followed by entry of a secure PIN completes the purchase.