Tech giant Google, social media platform Facebook, instant messenger WhatsApp, ride hailing company Uber and e-commerce behemoth Amazon are reportedly engaged in discussions with the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) to offer Unified Payments Interface (UPI) enabled payment on their respective platforms.
If the proposed move materialises, it would considerably strengthen digital payments ecosystem in the country while helping the Indian government to achieve its target of 25 billion digital payments this fiscal.
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UPI-enabled apps facilitate hassle free real-time transactions round the clock through any smartphone using Virtual Payment Address (VPA).
Google is said to have been concluded discussions with NPCI, which has forwarded its application to the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) for further considerations.
Google is expected to integrate its digital wallet Android Pay with UPI. Upon receiving the RBI’s approval, the internet giant will roll out its service in the country.
NPCI managing director and CEO AP Hota said: “Quite likely Google would come first, because their testing is more or less complete. We have written to RBI seeking approval just two or three days back.”
Whatsapp have started discussions with NPCI, which needs a series of discussions while Facebook’s discussions are in the preliminary stage.
Amazon is currently testing the UPI-based payments technology while Uber is still conducting the process.
The tech companies are also talking with various banks to collaborate for the roll out of UPI-based payments in the country.
