UPI 2.0 Will Have Aadhaar Based Biometric Authorization; OTP Based Recurring Payments!

 

Unified Payment Interface or UPI is the brainchild of NPCI or National Payments Corporation of India, a Govt. of India undertaking.

2016 saw the introduction of UPI as part of cashless push, and 2017 saw its amazing rise in popularity.

Now, 2018 would be the year when UPI 2.0 would be unleashed; and going by the looks of it, amazing is the word for that.

Can UPI finally overtake debit/credit card transactions now?

UPI 2.0 Revealed By NPCI

A senior official from NPCI has revealed some interesting features of upcoming UPI 2.0, which would be unleashed in 2018.

Encouraged by the amazing response it has received till now, NPCI is now all set to include some cutting edge features, which would make UPI a force to reckon with in the space of digital payments.

The reason behind UPI 2.0 version is that  more and more people are now using UPI for digital transactions – UPI was launched in August 2016, and in the first month it clocked 3,000 transactions worth Rs 3.10 crore; and in December 2017, there were total of  14.5463 crore UPI transactions worth  Rs 13,144.3 crore.

No other cashless medium has showcased such stunning growth, and the statement that it can beat card based transactions is no more a fantasy now.

Sneak Peek Into UPI 2.0

As per incoming reports, there shall be two new exciting updates in the UPI version 2.0:

#1 As of now, all UPI based transactions are password based. Soon, a Aadhaar based payment mechanism will be introduced, wherein the person can use biometric access to make any payments. This would remove the need for storing and remembering passwords and being biometric, it shall be more safe and secured.

The official said, “Introduction of biometric will make the entire transaction life cycle frictionless and enhance user convenience. It will also make payments more secure. Errors related to wrong UPI entry will be eliminated, thereby improving the transaction success rate,”

#2 In order to make seamless recurring payments, UPI 2.0 would enable a unique OTP based recurring payments mechanism, wherein based on the users’ previously defined terms and conditions, an amount can be debited every month or week from the bank account. A OTP would be generated everytime such recurring payment request is made, which the user will confirm after which the payment would be debited from the bank account.

This can be especially useful in recurring payments such as life insurance premium, house rents etc.

The exact timeline of the launch hasn’t yet been announced, but as per the official, NPCI will announce the launch of UPI 2.0, most probably before March in 2018.

What other features should UPI 2.0 have? Do let us know by commenting right here!