With the advent of the digital POS machine and the increase in popularity of online transactions like UPI Scan and Pay, it has become all the more important for retailers to acquaint themselves with UPI payments. As most of us are well aware by now, UPI stands for United Payment Interface. It is a noteworthy payments initiative launched by the NPCI National Payments Corporation of India) in liaison with the RBI (Reserve Bank of India) and the IBA (Indian Banks Association) in 2016.
This revolutionary digital payment mode of India facilitates instant payments using smartphones. With the elimination of the need for any card details, adding of the beneficiary, or office hours restrictions, UPI payments have been exceedingly popular ever since they were launched.
How to set up UPI on your smartphone?
Set up UPI for both receiving and sending payments through your smartphone is very easy. If you are a retailer, enabling UPI Scan and Pay and QR Code Payments on your digital POS machine can be a game-changer for your business. Here are the simple steps to install and set up UPI on your smartphone or tablet:-
- Download the UPI Payments App from the Google Play Store.
- Log in using your phone number and OTP.
- Create your Id as you deem fit. (Some users prefer to give their name, while others prefer to set it as their phone number or email id).
- You will be able to view your bank account numbers that are linked to the particular phone number that you have used to log in. You can now add one or more bank accounts as required.
- Set your confidential 6-digit Pin. Make sure you keep this Pin confidential and do not share it with anybody.
- You can now start sending and receiving payments using UPI.
Salient Features and Advantages of UPI Scan and Pay
- Hassle-free payments round the clock, as opposed to restricted banking hours for conventional money transfers.
- UPI Scan and Pay is instant, and this makes it an excellent choice for retailers to ease out queuing in the checkout aisle. This is also significant in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic because it promotes contact-free payments.
- Top-notch, Stringent Security Standards owing to the effective, three-fold collaboration of RBI, IBA, and NPCI.
- There is no minimum amount for conducting transactions, as opposed to various other payment modes where there is a baseline amount below which you cannot go.
- There is a special provision in UPI under which you can even send and receive payments without an internet connection. In fact, even a person who doesn’t own a smartphone and uses an old-style phone can still make UPI payments.
- All the transactions are made in real-time. This is the crucial link as far as transitioning from a cash-based economy to a cashless economy is concerned. There is no holding period in which the amount will stay with a third-party and then get credited to your merchant account. It is an instant and real-time transfer of payments from the customer’s account to the merchant’s account.
- As a merchant, you can easily generate and send E-Invoice using UPI. This is yet another benefit of including UPI payments in your digital POS machine.
- There is no need to add a NEFT beneficiary or provide personal details like your name, account number, bank details, and so on.
- All transactions are carried out between two virtual IDs, thereby making it completely safe.
- ● All the transaction details are stored virtually and can be accessed whenever you want. This eases out your sales report generation and book-keeping process as a business owner.
- Use of QR codes in UPI Scan and Pay has the highest level of encryption, thus making it watertight safe.
Conclusion
The Covid-19 pandemic has given a major boost to contactless payment modes like UPI Scan and Pay. As a business owner in today’s vibrant scenario of digital payment in India, being well-versed with all the major digital payment modes has become a necessity. Be it investing in the right digital POS machine, or accepting customer payments using UPI Scan and Pay, it would benefit you to understand the scope, advantages, security aspects, and compliances as far as digital transactions are concerned.
