Google Pay, the Unified Prepaid Interface (UPI) payment app, has unveiled new features at the Global Fintech Fest (GFF) 2024. The company said that these new features, which will be launched this year, will make it easier for users to make payments and transactions through the app. Some of the features announced at the GFF include UPI Circle, UPI Vouchers or eRupi, Clickpay QR code scanning, Prepaid Utility payments, Tap & Pay with RuPay cards, and more. Apart from this, the company also announced several partnerships at the event.
Google Pay Unveils New Features at GFF 2024
The creators of the UPI payment app described the new features in a blog post and said that they will make it easy, convenient and simple for users to use payments and financial instruments.
UPI Circle is a new feature of NPCI that allows UPI account holders to enable trusted individuals to make digital payments, even if they do not have a bank account. This feature can be beneficial for senior members of the family who do not have a bank account or an account linked to Google Pay but need to make a UPI payment.
These family members can either get Partial Delegation permission, where the primary user will have to approve every transaction, or Full Delegation permission, where they can get a monthly limit of up to Rs 15,000. The feature is being introduced in partnership with National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI).
UPI Vouchers or eRupi, a Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) feature launched in 2021, which will soon be supported on Google Pay. With this feature, individuals can generate a prepaid voucher that is linked to a mobile number and can be used to make digital payments, even if the user has not linked their bank account with UPI. This feature will be introduced on the platform in collaboration with NPCI and the Department of Financial Services.
Clickpay QR Code Scanning is another new bill payment feature available in Google Pay. It allows users to pay bills in Google Pay by scanning a QR code in the app. These payments can only be made if the bill issuer has generated a personalized QR code for the customer. Once scanned, users will see the bill amount they need to pay, as reported by Google.
Google Pay will also allow users to issue prepaid utility bills with a new feature. Similar to the feature in Paytm, the app will detect the user’s prepaid utility bills once they add the customer details to the app. Once this is done, users will be able to make recurring payments to billers that support prepaid payments. The feature will work across categories. It is being added in partnership with NPCI Bharat Billpay.
Tap & Pay with RuPay Cards will also be added to Google Pay this year. This will allow RuPay cardholders to add their RuPay card to the app and tap their near field communication (NFC)-enabled smartphone on a payment terminal and make a payment. Interestingly, the card information is not stored in the app, the company said.
Finally, UPI Lite gets an auto-pay feature. Users will be able to automatically top up their UPI Lite account when their balance falls below a certain amount.
