New Delhi: After a delay of several months, an upgraded version of the Unified Payments Interface (UPI), UPI 2.0, was launched today.  The launch took place in Mumbai with select members from National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI), banks and the Reserve Bank of India .  RBI governor Urjit Patel, State Bank of India (SBI) chairman Rajnish Kumar and Nandan Nilekani, the non-executive chairman of Infosys who is also the innovation advisor at NPCI , formally launched the product. 

NPCI is the umbrella organization for all retail payments in the country.  It also manages the UPI platform that facilitates instant fund transfer between two bank accounts on a mobile platform, without requiring details of the beneficiary’s bank account. 

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. 

UPI 2.0 member banks as on date are 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, NPCI said in a statement on Thursday. 

UPI was launched on 11 April 2016 and in the last two years the platform has emerged as a popular choice among users for sending and receiving money.  BHIM UPI recorded transactions worth ₹ 45,845 crore and 235 million in terms of value and volume in the month of July 2018. 

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