If you’re using the free services by Reliance Jio, you must have come across two apps – Jio Money and Jio Chat. Jio Chat is a similar service to WhatsApp while Jio Money is like Paytm that can be used for payments and other online transactions.
Considering the integration of these services on one platform, Reliance has announced P2P payments on Jio Chat through Jio Money. FreeCharge had launched a similar service last year to allow instant transfer of money between two people, while HDFC launched ‘OnChat’ last month for transferring money through Facebook Messenger.
Tech giants like Facebook have also unveiled these services for other banks, so it made sense to catch up soon. This will simplify the transfer of cash between two entities, and takes only about 5-10 seconds depending on the two sides.
How to send money through a conversation?
You need to have the two apps on your smartphone to transfer money to another individual, or receive money from them. Firstly, you will have to link these two apps. In the payments section of Jio Money app, click on ‘link’ to connect to Jio Chat.
Jio Chat will automatically fetch the OTP on Android, but iOS users will have to manually enter it on their smartphone. That’s it! The two apps will get linked through the password you receive upon confirmation. Even non-Jio users will be able to use this facility.
To send money to someone, open the chat window of the person you want to send money to. Tap on the Rupee icon on the bottom right, next to the microphone button, to enter the amount.
You will instantly see your Jio Money account balance below the chat bar. Enter the amount you want to transfer and click the send icon to send the amount. This will be an instant transaction and money will be credited to the receiver’s account. Even if you haven’t linked the two apps, you will receive an OTP once you click on send and it will link the apps accordingly.
Will this help Jio gain traffic on its apps?
Reliance Jio lacks the punch present in other third party apps, and that can be seen in the UI and the UX of the apps. They have been designed to do the basic minimum, and do their job well, but don’t leave a long-lasting impression on users.
So, for those that the company caters to, it is a really exciting news. Small merchants, and people from smaller towns and villages can easily transfer money to Jio accounts. Reliance Jio needs to increase the number of merchants it caters to, because that industry has been dominated by the likes of Paytm and FreeCharge.
If somehow Jio could improve the user experience and increase coverage, it will benefit the section that was most affected by demonetization. If you’re not using Jio apps, you’re not losing out on anything because Paytm, HDFC and other financial institutions are doing a better job at it.
