National Payments Commission of India (NPCI) has launched UPI Lite, an on-device wallet option for Unified Payment Interface (UPI) to enable small-value transactions in an offline mode. Member banks of the NPCI have been informed of the launch UPI Lite is being said to be similar to Paytm and MobiKwik. In the initial stages of the test, UPI Lite will be partially offline and there will be a limit on transactions and balance of the on-device balance. UPI Lite is said to take the NPCI’s ambition of offline transactions to the next step. Let us take a look at what is UPI Lite and how it will work.
As mentioned above, UPI Lite will be an on-device wallet functionality that will enable offline transactions of smaller values. UPI Lite will work via the wallet system. You will have to add funds in the UPI Lite wallet and use these to make small payments under Rs 200.
How Does UPI Lite Work :-
There is a Rs 2,000 limit on the amount of money you can have in this UPI Lite wallet. In the initial stages, it will be a partially offline system. This means that money will be debited offline, but credited online. Meaning that if you are using a UPI Lite wallet and paying someone, the money will be debited from your account without being connected to the internet, but it will get credit to the receiver’s account when they are online. This, NPCI says will also go completely offline, meaning both debit and credit will be possible offline. The agency also said that users will not be required to enter their UPI PIN while confirming UPI Lite payments.
When will UPI Lite Launch :-
The exact timeline as to when UPI Lite will be launched is not known yet. NPCI has said that initially UPI Lite shall be launched as a pilot with multiple banks and app providers, and after a due comfort is achieved, the full scale commercial launch with compliance timelines for on-boarding for the issuers and app providers shall be declared.
How much Money can you Send on UPI Lite :-
As mentioned, there will be a Rs 2,000 limit on the amount of money you can have in your UPI Lite wallet. The limit on transactions will be Rs 200 per transaction.
