Fifteen Indian banks to roll out unified payment interface
(2 August 2016 – India) Around 15 banks across India have rolled out the unified payments interface (UPI).
The rollout, which included private and public banks, started at the end of July and expects to add an additional 15 financial institutions by September.
The UPI system allows customers to buy and pay for goods using their mobile phones for authentication, in lieu of a bank card. Existing bank apps can be UPI-enabled or have UPI apps. Customers can have a single virtual identity for a bank account through which they can make and receive payments digitally.
National Payment Corporation of India’s (NPCI) Managing director and CEO, AP Hota said that he expects all banks operating in the country to be part of the system.
“We expect all banks to become part of UPI by March 2017. UPI is now on the top of the IMPS (immediate payment service system). There are 120 banks in the IMPS. All these banks will have to become part of the UPI to make it a revolutionary digital payment system,” he said.
Banks that were in the advanced stages of rolling out the service included Union Bank of India, ICICI Bank, Federal Bank, Punjab National Bank, United Bank of India, Oriental Bank of Commerce, Bank of Maharashtra, Vijaya Bank, UCO Bank, Catholic Syrian Bank, Andhra Bank, TJSB Bank, DCB Bank, Canara Bank, Bhartiya Mahila Bank, YES Bank, and Axis Bank.
Hota added that banks meeting the criteria of 1,000 pilot customers, 5,000 transactions, and 90 percent success ratio will go operational.
Subscribe