Uber Likely to Introduce NPCI Enabled UPI Payments

US based cab aggregator, Uber is in talks with National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) to instigate Unified Payment Interface (UPI) based payments system on its platform. The step is expected to ease-off transaction process during check-out. The UPI-API option of payments integrated into the app can enable riders to complete  transaction by paying instantly and directly from their banks with a single click in a secure manner.

UPI provides a common interface across all payment systems. Unlike other methods of payment such as Net banking or Internet banking, UPI does not involve multiple steps to get through the payment process. Rather, it reduces the complexity by allowing completion of whole ordeal with the use of a single unique identifier. A unique identifier can be a personal mobile number, Aadhaar card number or a Virtual Payment Address (VPA) which is linked to one’s bank account address.

Since a VPA is not your actual payment address but it acts as the payment address, it eliminates the need to disclose one’s bank related information. With this, it becomes possible to skip the complex experience during checkout and transact at the click of a button.

The taxi provider company is also in talks of hiring more tech experts to expand its engineering team in India to boost its customer experience. The expanded techie team is said to work on enhancing both rider and driver experience through better payments and booking options. With UPI integrated into the app, riders will be able to make payments using their virtual address, beside the existing modes of payments such as cash, debit or credit card and payment wallets. Through UPI, smartphones are enabled to double up as virtual debit cards which allow us to send or receive money instantly.