Airtel Payments Bank enables UPI-based payments at merchant locations

Airtel Payments Bank said on Tuesday it has enabled Unified Payments Interface-based payments at more than 500,000 merchant points across India. The service will allow users to make digital payments by using any BHIM (Bharat Interface for Money) UPI-enabled bank or payments app over their mobile phones, the company said in a statement.

The newly launched payments solution offered by Airtel Payments Bank allows consumers the option to make digital transactions by using their mobile phones directly through their bank accounts by scanning a merchant QR code through any BHIM UPI-enabled app. Users of Airtel Payments Bank will also be able to pay through e-wallets by using the Airtel Thanks app.

Airtel Payments Bank, operated by Bharti Airtel Ltd, said it plans to bring at least one million offline merchants within the fold of its payments platform.

“This is an important step towards our aim of creating a ubiquitous digital payments ecosystem for all consumers,” said Anubrata Biswas, MD and CEO, Airtel Payments Bank.

Commenting on the digital payments ecosystem in India, Dilip Ashbe, MD and CEO of National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) said: “There is already a significant shift to a mobile-first strategy with consumers using functionality-rich and user-friendly apps for P2P (peer-to-peer) or P2M (peer-to-manufacturer) payments.”

Recent developments in the digital payments segment:

• Paytm claims leadership in the payment gateways by capturing over half of the market share. 
• May 2019: Homegrown fin-tech platform ToneTag launched its sound-based, contactless payments platform in Japan. 
• May 2019: Digital payments firm BharatPe made its foray into short-term, small-value loan advances by partnering Apollo Finvest India Pvt Ltd.