PremiumMUMBAI: ICICI Bank on Wednesday announced linking a UPI (Unified Payments Interface) ID to its digital wallet Pockets, marking a departure from the current practice that demands such IDs be linked with a savings bank account.
According to the press release, new users, including those who are not customers of ICICI Bank, can now instantly get a UPI ID, which is automatically linked to Pockets. Further, customers who already have a UPI ID will get a new ID when they log on to the Pockets app. This initiative enables users to undertake small value everyday transactions directly from their Pockets wallet using UPI in a safe and secure manner.
It helps them to streamline the number of transactions being undertaken daily from their savings account and thus de-clutter their savings account statement of multiple entries. Further, it expands the convenient usage of UPI to young adults like college students, who may not have a savings account.
The Bank has collaborated with NPCI to link its Pockets digital wallet to the UPI network, paving way for this novel initiative of linking a customer’s UPI ID with his/ her digital wallet. With this, customers using Pockets can pay/ receive money directly from/to Pockets wallet balance without using their savings bank account, as per the release.
Users of Pockets' digital wallet can use the UPI ID to make a person to person (P2P) payments such as sending money to any individual’s bank account or paying a contact. They can also undertake person to merchant (P2M) payments like paying online at merchant sites or paying by scanning QR codes. Additionally, users get exciting rewards on every transaction that they make using the wallet. Besides, an existing user can update their Pockets app to the latest version and get going.
The advantages of UPI-linked Pockets are:
Scan and Pay: Users can scan QR codes and make payments at merchant outlets or other locations, through BHIM UPI on the Pockets app.
Make and receive payments: Customers can use their Pockets UPI ID to pay against a collect request sent by another user or app. They can receive money too by creating a collect request by entering a valid amount and the sender’s UPI ID.
Pay to contacts: With this feature, users can seamlessly make payment to their contacts in the phone book.
UPI payments at merchant sites: Users can make payments online at any merchant site by opting to make ‘payment through UPI’ and entering their Pockets UPI ID. Once they enter their ID, a collect request is generated which can be accepted on the Pockets app to complete the payment, as per the release.
Money transfers: Customers can seamlessly transfer funds from their Pockets wallet to a savings account or any other Pockets wallet, by entering the recipient's Pockets UPI ID or savings account details.
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