PremiumEven though the UPI set-up’s ease of use has seen online payments soar to new highs month after month, poor net connectivity and low data usage in rural areas have kept this facility out of reach for too many. UPI Lite could bridge this part of our digital divide
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The National Payments Corp. of India is reportedly testing a system, UPI Lite, that will allow payments based on its Unified Payments Interface mechanism without the need of an active internet connection. With it, users of feature phones may soon be able to rely on telecom airwaves for transfers from their bank accounts of sums under ₹200, the central bank’s initial limit for such transactions.
The plan is significant, as off-web feature phones still make up a significant chunk of India’s telecom user base. Even though the UPI set-up’s ease of use has seen online payments soar to new highs month after month, poor net connectivity and low data usage in rural areas have kept this facility out of reach for too many. UPI Lite could bridge this part of our digital divide. Once it’s found to be safe and reliable, its transaction bar could be raised. In time, it will give a fillip to the Reserve Bank of India’s recently-created digital payments index. Last September, it stood just above 304, a 40% leap from the index’s reading a year earlier. While the convenience of zipping money around this way should be available to all, going fully cashless must not be our aim. Let’s maximize payment options instead.
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