In order to push digital payments in India, global companies like Amazon, Google, Facebook and Uber are looking to implement Unified Payment Interface (UPI) on their platforms.
According to a report by The Economics Times, can aggregator, Uber, is expected to launch UPI through the integration with Bharat Interface for Money (BHIM) app in a few weeks. Since about 60percent of these cabs drivers still get paid in cash by customers, UPI payments will help Uber’s drivers make their payments to Uber using UPI,” NPCI CEO AP Hota told ET. Interestingly, its rival, Ola, has already integrated UPI to simplify digital payment options for its customers.
An Uber spokesperson told the publication that the company will provide an option to use existing UPI IDs to pay for Uber rides. Amazon is also looking to integrate UPI with a collaboration with few banks in India. Hota further adds that the e-commerce giant will not develop its own app, but will instead use a pay button for UPI on its portal.
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Google is all set to launch UPI payments in the next two to three months and testing for the same has been almost completed, according to him. The search engine giant is developing a separate app for the Indian market, which will come with Android Pay along with UPI feature integrated into it.
WhatsApp and Facebook are also looking to launch UPI-based payments in the country, but they are still in discussion phase, Hota added. WhatsApp was earlier reported to looking for different ways to integrate the payment system on its platform. According to multiple reports, WhatsApp will identify the recipient and the UPI layer will allow funds to get settled between two parties.
Digital payments are becoming a rage these, especially after the whole demonetization drive last year. Slowly and steadily, multiple banks and private companies are adopting the payment system. Hike Messenger recently tied up with Yes Bank to introduce UPI and wallet services. Paytm newly-launched banking service, Paytm Payment Bank, also has an integration of UPI. Samsung is also not far behind and the South Korean giant has recently launched Samsung Pay in India, which comes integrated with UPI and Paytm. It would be interesting to see whether government’s initiative will help in creating a cashless economy.