PhonePe Launches UPI Lite for Fast and Easy Low-Value Payments

PhonePe launches UPI Lite: PhonePe today announced the launch of the UPI Lite capability on its app. Users can utilise this functionality to make low-value payments of less than Rs. 200 with a single tap from their UPI Lite account without entering a PIN. The transaction is completed immediately by debiting the on-device UPI Lite balance, without touching the customers' (remitter bank's) core banking systems in real-time. This makes transactions more frictionless and even faster than standard UPI transactions, while also boosting the transaction's success likelihood.

All major banks support UPI Lite on PhonePe, and it is accepted by all UPI retailers and QRs across the country. The feature functions on a 'on-device' balance, allowing for more speedier real-time payment options for low-value purchases like grocery and transit, especially during peak hours.

"UPI Lite is a key component of the UPI stack offering, with the goal of improving users' digital payments experience for frequent and low-ticket spends." Small-ticket transactions account for a major portion of total UPI payments, and UPI Lite will make them faster and more convenient without taxing the existing UPI infrastructure. UPI Lite also provides the possibility for the introduction of use cases that need payment execution without network connectivity, making it one of the most intriguing NPCI debuts in recent memory. This is a critical step towards growing digital payment use for users across India, further strengthening a cashless economy. We are confident that India would embrace the feature for faster and more convenient low-value payments." PhonePe co-founder and chief technology officer Rahul Chari

Users can activate the feature on their PhonePe app immediately by following a simple process that does not require KYC authentication and creating a UPI Lite account. Users can load up to Rs. 2000 onto their Lite account and make transactions of Rs. 200 or less in a single transaction.

To check the transaction history, consumers will receive a daily SMS from their bank with the history of UPI Lite transactions made during the day. Small-value transactions are also decluttered from bank statements and passbooks because they are only displayed in the LITE account and not on the bank statement.

Here's how PhonePe customers can use the PhonePe app to enable UPI Lite:

• Open the PhonePe app
• On the home screen of the app, users will get the option to enable UPI Lite
• User enters the amount to add it in UPI Lite and selects the bank account
• User enters UPI Pin and the UPI Lite account is enabled successfully.

PhonePe, which launched in December 2015, has grown to become India's largest payments app, facilitating digital inclusion for both consumers and merchants. With 45 crore (450 million) registered users, PhonePe currently has one in every four Indians.