National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) has officially launched upgrade to the first iteration of Unified Payments Interface (UPI) named as UPI 2.0.
UPI 2.0 has new features
included are UPI Mandate and Invoice in the Inbox. New security enhancements including Signed Intent and QR that are designed to let customers verify merchants before making any payments. There is an option to attach UPI to an overdraft (OD) account. This comes in addition to the existing saving and current account support.
included are UPI Mandate and Invoice in the Inbox. New security enhancements including Signed Intent and QR that are designed to let customers verify merchants before making any payments. There is an option to attach UPI to an overdraft (OD) account. This comes in addition to the existing saving and current account support.
Banks that are on board for UPI 2.0 include State Bank of India (SBI), HDFC Bank, Axis Bank, ICICI Bank, IDBI Bank, RBL Bank, Yes Bank, Kotak Mahindra Bank, IndusInd Bank, Federal Bank, and HSBC.
Here are key features of UPI 2.0:
1. Linking of overdraft account: In addition to current and savings accounts, customers can link their overdraft account to UPI. Customers will be able to transact instantly and all benefits associated with overdraft account shall be made available to the users. UPI 2.0 will serve as an additional digital channel to access the overdraft account.
2. One-time mandate: UPI mandate could be used in a scenario where money is to be transferred later by providing commitment at present. UPI 2.0 mandates are created with one-time block functionality for transactions. Customers can pre-authorise a transaction and pay at a later date. It works seamlessly for merchants as well as for individual users. Mandates can be created and executed instantly. On the date of actual purchase, the amount will be deducted and received by the merchant/individual user.
3. Invoice in the inbox: According to NPCI, this feature is designed for customers to check the invoice sent by merchant prior to making payment. It will help customers to view and verify the credentials and check whether it has come from the right merchant or not. Customers can pay after verifying the amount and other important details mentioned in the invoice.
4. Signed intent and QR: This feature is designed for customers to check the authenticity of merchants while scanning QR or quick response code. It notifies the user with information to ascertain whether the merchant is a verified UPI merchant or not. This provides an additional security. Customers will be informed in case the receiver is not secured by way of notifications, said NPCI.
