Axis Bank Launches Axis Pay UPI App
Cashless economy is the buzz word these days. With demonetization in action going cashless is the most hassle free way of doing any monetary transaction. Going cashless usually triggers the thought of making use of your credit cards, debit cards, net banking and online wallets. Amid all this another concept that has gained popularity is Unified Payment Interface (UPI). More and more banks have started utilizing this interface. Axis Bank has also recently launched its Axis Bank UPI App for instant and secure money transfer.
Axis Pay UPI App
Axis Pay UPI App is an easy to use app based on Unified Payment Interface. It allows you to link any bank account with just your name and you can later send and receive payments instantly and securely. The bank account can belong to any bank (UPI enabled), it doesn’t really have to be just Axis Bank. There are a lot of questions and apprehensions around Unified Payment interface (UPI) and its security aspects. Sangram Singh, the SVP & Head – Cards & Merchant Acquiring Business of Axis bank explained all about the interface and App functionality.
What is UPI?
You can think of UPI as an advanced and enhanced version of IMPS. It is like a unique id for your money. The bank uses this unique id as an identifier in order to transfer money and make other payments using the already well known IMPS.
Back-end of UPI
Unified Payment Interface (UPI) is a combined initiative of National Payments Corporation of India’s (NPCI), Reserve Bank of India and Indian Banks Association (IBA). IMPS (Immediate Payments Service) was also the initiative of National Payments Corporation of India hence I am a little assured of the security aspect.
How does Axis Pay UPI App work?
Axis Pay UPI App is an easy to use and comprehensive app.
Follow the below steps to get started with the Axis Pay UPI App:
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Sender & receiver to download Axis Pay UPI App from Google Playstore :
The sender and the receiver are ought to have the App installed on their respective smartphones.
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Create unique IDs (example – name@axisbank) :
Create a unique id for yourself, for instance I created [email protected]. If the id is already created the app will prompt you to choose another id. Set a six digit passcode. This passcode will be used as an authentication every time you open the Axis Pay UPI App in your smartphone.
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Link any bank account to your ID:
This is the easiest step of the whole process. You have to select the your bank from the list available in the Axis Pay UPI App. The App consists of a drop down with all the 29 UPI enabled banks listed on it. The moment you select the bank, your account details will be fetched automatically, provided your phone number is linked to that particular bank. The app basically communicates with your banks and gets the account details by furnishing your phone number and name.
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Verify your Account:
After you have selected your bank and created your VPA verify your selected account by entering its debit card details and an OTP which will be sent on your mobile number from your respective bank. Also set an MPIN which will be used for authentication every time you send money to any other party.
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Send & receive secure payments instantly:
Go to manage contact and add payees VPA. To initiate transfer click on send, select your VPA and sender’s VPA, enter the amount and click on send. You will have to authenticate the transaction by entering the MPIN (set in the previous step) and voila the transfer is done.
The below video will give you a comprehensive idea as to how the app works:
There are a lot of online portals which have the option of payments through UPI. For instance portals like BigBasket, Snapdeal, MakeMyTrip, FreeCharge and a lot more by just selecting UPI as the payment mode. All you have to do is authenticate your transaction with your already setup MPIN. Going forward more and more online portals are going to adopt the UPI payment mode.
How secure is UPI?
All the transactions through UPI happen in an extensive encrypted format. Just like we have One Time Password (OTP) for card and net banking transaction we have MPIN for transactions through UPI. Speaking from my experience I did two transactions and they went pretty smooth.
Benefits of UPI
Unified Payment Interface (UPI) comes with the benefit of hassle free monetary transactions. You don’t have to remember the account numbers and IFSC codes anymore. Other than this you don’t have to wait for certain number of hours after adding beneficiary in order to proceed with the transactions. UPI also ensures that the transaction is done within seconds.
To know more about Axis Bank UPI App, download the Axis Pay app from Google Play Store.