MARKETS Pay, your Valentine’s Day saviour

This Valentine, let UPI help you on-the go! The Unified Payments Interface (UPI) ever since its launch in 2016, has garnered much popularity. Over time, UPI transactions have seen a steady increase in engagement. The volume of transactions have gone up, rising across devices with increasing penetration of the internet, smartphones, and the awareness around them.

In the month of August, the transactions done through UPI payments crossed the 900 million mark — a direct result of the penetration of smartphones in the country. New data released by the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) revealed that the month of August saw a total of 918 million transactions, amounting to Rs 1.54 lakh crore. The numbers, as compared to those in the month of July, see an 11.6 percent surge in the volume of transactions, and a 5.5 percent surge in the value.

 

Considering the current trends in UPI payments, the volume of transactions is all set to go up. Besides UPI has become a preferred mode of payment for several millennials in urban spaces. Considering how important UPI has become, let’s look at how safe UPI transactions actually are.

How exactly are the transactions safe

The methods that UPI brings in several layers of security to UPI transactions. Firstly — to activate — it takes advantage of the SIM verification. To make sure that you happen to be the willful initiator of the transaction and the owner of the phone where the transaction has been initiated, UPI links itself to the SIM card of your phone. This way, the feature is accessible only to you.

It sends a message to its server, asking for an activation request from your phone, and once the request is received — once the phone verifies that it is going through your number —UPI activates for regular usage. It is to be noted that the SIM that you are trying to link should also be linked to the bank account.

With security layers such as these, UPI transactions make sure that nobody else is accessing your account.

A custom PIN

Post linking, you have to feed a six-digit pin — the M-PIN — to your app. This pin is generated by you and is used before you initiate any transaction. You will need this pin to transfer money online or to check your account balance — any form of access to your account will need this pin.

There happen to be no intermediaries in these transactions, and it’s just done through a direct link between the app and the bank.

Another point that could be noted is that when the transaction takes place through UPI, the money does not leave your account while the transaction is complete. Once the confirmation takes place, the amount is debited from your bank account.

The fact that the connection for the UPI transaction takes place with just linking the phone number eliminates the need to have an IFSC code or any other details of the account that you are transferring in. You are shown the name of the person and that is another cue in identifying if the transaction belongs to them or if it is operative of them.

UPI seems to be taking a much safer approach than many other modes of payment. With cash, there is always a fear of it getting lost, with debit cards and plastic money, you have to get them blocked if you lose them. Besides, not a lot of merchants — especially small business owners — have access to PoS (Point of Sale) machines at their business places. With net banking, there is the hassle of remembering the usually complicated user id and password. However, with UPI, the only thing that you have to remember your M-PIn.

Even if you tend to forget your M-PIN, you can easily reset it using an OTP that you can receive on the phone with much ease.

Most of the shopping platforms online have support for UPI payments. The unilateral support which this mode of payment has got drives much integration to its operation. With UPI, it has finally become much more comfortable, convenient to say no to real money — that, if you are good at not losing your phone. So why wait? Download the Bajaj Markets app, create your UPI handle & use MARKETS Pay to make your payments this Valentine’s Day!

Bajaj Markets, a subsidiary of Bajaj Finserv, is a one-stop digital marketplace that has been created for consumers on the go. It offers 500+ financial and lifestyle products, all at one place. At Bajaj Markets, we understand that every individual is different. And that’s why we have invested in creating a proposition – Offers You Value. A value proposition that ensures you get offers which are tailor made for you. We also offer an amazing product range and unique set of online offers across Loans, Insurance, Investment, Payments and an exclusive EMI store. Be it in helping you achieve your financial life goals or offering you the latest gadgets, we strive to offer what you are looking for. From simple and fast loan application processes to seamless and hassle-free claim-settlements, from no cost EMIs to 4 hours product delivery, we work towards fulfilling all your personal and financial needs. What’s more! Now enjoy the same benefits in just one click with our Bajaj Markets App.