Unified Payments Interface | Essay for English Writing Skills Paper

Introduced in 2016, Unified Payments Interface is an instant real-time payment system facilitating inter-bank transactions. Developed by the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI), it is a system that powers multiple bank accounts into a single mobile application (of any participating bank), merging several banking features, seamless fund routing,and merchant payments into one hood.

Regulated under the guidelines of the Reserve Bank of India, the Unified Payments Interface was introduced to encourage “cashless transactions” in India. There are multiple apps that offer this facility. Additionally, most bank applications are now offering UPI-enabled transactions on their apps.

Some of the apps/banks that provide UPI payments are:

  1. BHIM (Bharat Interface for Money)
  2. PhonePe
  3. Paytm
  4. Airtel Payments Bank
  5. Google Tez (Google Pay)
  6. SBI Pay
  7. iMobile (ICICI Bank)
  8. Axis Bank

Customers can use any UPI-enabled app to link multiple bank accounts. Following methods may be used to collect or receive money:

  1. Virtual Payment Address (VPA) or UPI ID
  2. Mobile Number
  3. Account number and IFSC
  4. Aadhar
  5. QR Code

Advantages of Unified Payments Interface

  1. Secure payment
  2. No usage charges
  3. Round-the-clock availability
  4. Real-time payment
  5. Single-click authentication
  6. Inclusive of all bank accounts
  7. Complaint can be raised directly through the app

UPI Transaction Limit

  1. In most cases, one can make around 20 transactions per day.
  2. Some banks namely HDFC, ICICI, PNB, and SBI allows you to send up to ₹1 lakh per transaction, while other banks may allow ₹10k or ₹20k. The amount depends on the bank and the mobile app.

For example, in the case of BHIM UPI, which is a government authorized application developed by NPCI itself, the limit per transaction is 20k and the limit per day is 40k.

Types of Transactions that can be performed using UPI

  1. Remittances: UPI can be used to send or receive money from your friends or relatives at a single click.
  2. Bill Payments: From electricity bill to mobile bills, you can pay any bill using UPI.
  3. Merchant transactions: You can pay for your online orders onAmazon, Myntra, Zomato, or any other e-commerce site.

You can read more such informative articles under the Academic articles section on our website.

If you need further assistance in preparation, enroll in our RBI Grade-B Preparation Course. The notification for RBI Grade-B Exam is likely to come out in June and the exam is scheduled in July. So, hurry up and get in touch with our course counselors to get more information on course deliverables.