What is UPI? Here is a simple 5-point tip to know it better

The much-awaited, revolutionary payment system UPI -- Unified Payment Interface, developed by the National Payment Corporation of India -- has been launched with 21 banks in India.

UPI is a unique payment solution that provides a single interface across all systems for any payment transaction, unlike the traditional NEFT/IMPS (Immediate Payment Service) transactions, where a bank account number is a must.

In a country like India where the most of the people, specifically in rural areas, are not bank-savvy, this is likely to be the best solution for cashless transactions and to promote mobile banking transactions.

Currently, the app to enable this is only for Android phones. Here are the things you should know about Unified Payments Interface:

1. Firstly, to initiate a payment all you need is a smartphone and your banking app installed on it. Then you have to register with your mobile number to get a unique 'virtual address', which is basically a payment identifier. The UPI app offers the facility to identify a bank customer with this email-like virtual address. You can also use a mobile number or a short name for the virtual address such as XYZ@icici or 123456789@axis
2. Once the unique ID has been generated you can pay bills, do recharges, and receive or transfer funds real time. This works on a single click two-2factor authentication method, which makes mobile payments easier and quicker. The UPI app also allows you to have multiple virtual addresses for multiple accounts in various banks. While making a payment, the transaction will be complete once the customer authenticates the transaction through a secure PIN.
3. With UPI, transactions can be as small as Rs 50 to as high as Rs 100,000 and will be done in real time without the need of the bank account or Indian Financial System Code (IFSC).
4. It is currently available with 21 banks, of which 19 can be downloaded from Google Play Store, which are: 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.
IDBI Bank and RBL Bank, as the issuers, will help the customers to download the UPI-enabled Apps and link their account.
5. Eventually, the goal is, with the increasing usage of smartphone, to encourage mobile banking transactions and bring cashless ecosystem.