Private sector lender ICICI Bank has launched a facility for linking a Unified Payments Interface (UPI) ID with its digital wallet, ‘Pockets’.
The facility is a departure from the current practice under which UPI IDs can be linked with a savings bank account.
“This initiative enables users to undertake small-value daily transactions directly from their Pockets wallet using UPI in a safe and secure manner,” said ICICI Bank in a statement on Wednesday, adding that it would help them 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,” it said.
10 lakh customers of other banks using ICICI Bank’s mobile app
New users, including those who are not customers of ICICI Bank, can now instantly get a UPI ID, which is automatically linked to Pockets, while customers who already have a UPI ID will get a new ID when they log on to the Pockets app.
Ties up with NPCI
The bank has collaborated with National Payments Corporation of India to link its ‘Pockets’ digital wallet to the UPI network.
“Our research suggests that users are keen to link their UPI ID with their digital wallet, so that they can directly use the balance in the wallet for smaller transactions while using their savings account only for the larger ones. We believe the facility will provide immense convenience and the advantage of secured UPI payments to customers using Pockets wallet,” said Bijith Bhaskar, Head, Digital Channels and Partnership, ICICI Bank.