Google Pay has partnered with Pine Labs to launch Tap to Pay for Unified Payments Interface (UPI), a functionality that will bring the convenience of Tap to Pay to UPI. Tap to Pay was only available for cards.
UPI is a system that powers multiple bank accounts into a single mobile application (of any participating bank), merging several banking features, seamless fund routing & merchant payments into one hood.
To complete a payment, a user will need to tap their phone on the POS terminal and authenticate the payment from their phone, using their UPI PIN, making the process virtually instantaneous, as compared to scanning a QR code or entering the UPI-linked mobile number.
This feature will be available to any UPI user who wants to use their NFC-enabled Android smartphone to transact using any Pine Labs Android POS terminal across the country. This was piloted with Reliance Retail and will now be available at other large merchants such as Future Retail and Starbucks, according to media reports.
“Fintech growth in India is writing the playbook for the world, first with enabling real-time payments with UPI, and further, by innovating with flows that make the transaction time virtually zero. Tap to Pay for UPI has profound implications for high traffic retail outlets, with queue management hassles poised to be greatly reduced, and taking digital payments at POS well beyond cards. We are very excited to bring this first-ever innovation to India, in collaboration with Pine Labs,” said Sajith Sivanandan, Business Head – Google Pay and Next Billion User initiatives, Google APAC.
There has been a constant rise in cashless transactions during the COVID19 pandemic. According to data from the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI), 456 crore UPI transactions worth about Rs 8.27 crore were conducted last month. That compares with 422 crore transactions worth about Rs 7.71 lakh crore in October and 230 crore transactions worth Rs 4.31 lakh crore last January.
UPI transactions hit a peak in October on the back of the festive season. There was a marginal dip in November before a surge in December. In all of 2021, more than 3,800 crore UPI transactions amounting to Rs 73 lakh crore were conducted.
“With INR 8.26 lakh crore worth of transactions in just a month of December 2021, UPI has taken off in a big way in India. Today, we are pleased to partner Google Pay and enable ‘tap to pay’ for UPI transactions on Pine Labs Android POS terminals. We believe this will further strengthen UPI acceptance in India and appeal to consumers, especially the youth population who have taken a liking for contactless and digital payments.” said Kush Mehra, Chief Business Officer, Pine Labs.
“We are delighted to witness the popular Tap and Pay technology being pioneered for UPI. With the growing adoption of UPI, this first-of-its-kind functionality with Google Pay and Pine Labs will augment the customer experience and pave the way for a smarter and faster payment experience. Interoperability has always been a winning proposition for UPI, and this will be a step ahead in transforming the way real-time digital transactions are conducted especially in retail merchants,” said Nalin Bansal, Chief of Corporate and Fintech Relationships and Key Initiatives, NPCI.
