Paytm Payments Bank goes live with UPI Lite

On February 6, ET was the first to report that Paytm was planning to go live with the product that will allow users to make small-ticket transactions without the use of UPI PIN.

“We are excited to be the first to empower Indians with the power of UPI Lite,” said Surinder Chawla, MD and CEO, Paytm Payments Bank. “As per official data from NPCI, half of the everyday UPI transactions in the country are less than Rs 200 and with UPI Lite, users get superior experience with faster and safer real-time small value payments. We are focussed on driving digital inclusion and the launch of UPI Lite is a big step ahead in that direction.”

ET had also reported that in addition to Paytm, Walmart-owned fintech PhonePe was also planning to soon launch its UPI Lite offering. Tiger Global-backed fintech Slice is also working on launching UPI Lite on its UPI payments product, ET had reported on February 6.

UPI Lite was launched in September 2022 by Reserve Bank of India governor Shaktikanta Das to make low-value UPI payments faster and simpler. So far, only BHIM UPI app had UPI Lite feature live on the platform but a negligible amount of users transact through it now.

UPI Lite is an on-device wallet feature that allows users to make real-time small-value payments of up to Rs 200 without using a UPI PIN. At present, only debit from your wallet is permitted and all credits to UPI Lite, including refunds, will directly go to your bank account.

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About 75% of the total volume of retail transactions, including cash, in India are below Rs 100 in transaction value. Additionally, 50% of the total UPI transactions are also of value Rs 200 or less, according to an NPCI circular issued in March last year.In a statement, Paytm Payments Bank said that the feature helps in de-cluttering the bank passbook of small value transactions, “as these payments would now only show in the Paytm balance & history section, and not in the bank passbook”.