Modi govt 8 years: How India outpaced world in UPI, digital payments

Long gone are the days when people use to stand in the long queue at ATMs or at banks to withdraw money. Today, even the smallest juice corner of your town might have a QR scanner for making payments online.

But how did it all start?

It was our Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who suggested the citizens go cashless years back. Today, his will effort towards the technological advancement, and support of great engineers, UPI payments were launched in the nation on 11th April 2016 by Dr Raghuram G Rajan, Governor, RBI (Mumbai). And eventually, various banks started to upload their UPI enabled mobile applications on the Google Play store from 25th August 2016 onwards. And today, in 2022, even the smallest towns or villages of the nation operate cashlessly, all thanks to the UPI payments.

Though the technology has reached the corners of the nation- urban and rural both, and people are using the technology, many are still unaware of the UPI and its benefits. So here we bring to you a detailed guide to understanding how UPI payment works. 

What is UPI?

Unified Payments Interface (UPI) is a system designed to power multiple bank accounts in a single mobile application. It features seamless fund routing and merchant payments through one hood. 

How did UPI operate for common citizens of India?

UPI allows transferring money from one bank account to another instantly through a mobile phone. Users can make the payments through the app only which will be operated via mobile phone. You can make the payment or request money at any point in time on a 24x7 basis. That is how flexible the platform is for you to shop, pay bills, and transfer money at any point in time, without the trouble.

Is UPI an Indian technology?

Indeed it is the first big Made in India technology platform designed in India and owned by an Indian company. As per the reports, in February 2022, 304 banks were officially available on UPI with a monthly volume of more than 4 billion transactions with a valuation of around lakh crores, if we believe the sources.

How did it help the common citizen?

It was on 8 November 2016, when Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced the demonetization of Rs 500 and 1,000 banknotes. This meant that the banknotes (Rs. 500 and Rs. 1000) were withdrawn from the circulation and with immediate effect, they were no longer considered legal.

It was at that time that people moved out of their comfort zone and started to act faster toward digital payments and started realising the power of online transactions. 

Benefits of UPI Payments?

I have to mention that it was uncomfortable to accept such change made by the government and I felt that it was pushy too. But today, I think this was the best push which made us technologically inclined and able to understand the power of cashless payment.

It impacted the people more strongly when the lockdown hit the nation in 2020, and all the payment modes became online and no physical contact was accepted due to COVID 19. As per my experience, I would not have survived if I was unable to make payments through online modes like Google Pay, Phone Pay, PayTM and more.

I would like to conclude by stating that today we have a number of modes to do online transactions safely and securely across the country and beyond, because of the UPI system. And the initiative of PM Narendra Modi has certainly upgraded the nation in the best possible way- where people from all classes, creeds, religions, professions and more are using the online mode for transactions, and accepting it to be a part of life. Indeed, India and the Indians have accepted the development and working towards more of the smarter and more secure ways to handle money online.