 payments app, announced new features at the Global Fintech Fest (GFF) 2024.){kind=link}
Google Pay, the Unified Prepaid Interface (UPI) payments app, unveiled new features at the Global Fintech Fest (GFF) 2024. The company said that these new features, which will be rolled out later 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 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 introduces new features at GFF 2024
Payments app UPI detailed the new features in a blog post and said that these functionalities will bring ease, convenience and simplicity to the way users interact with payments and financial instruments.
UPI Circle is a new feature from NPCI that enables UPI account holders to allow trusted individuals to make digital payments even if they don’t have a bank account. This feature can be beneficial for elderly family members who don’t have a bank account or an account linked to Google Pay, but need to make a UPI payment.
These family members can get partial delegation privilege, where the primary user will have to approve every transaction, or full delegation privilege, where they can get a monthly limit of up to Rs 15,000. This feature is being launched in partnership with the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI).
UPI vouchers or eRupi, a Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) feature launched in 2021, will soon be supported on Google Pay. Using this feature, people can generate a prepaid voucher linked to a mobile number and can use it to make digital payments even if the user has not linked a bank account to UPI. This feature will be incorporated on the platform in collaboration with NPCI and the Department of Financial Services.
Clickpay QR scanning is another new bill payment feature coming to Google Pay. It allows users to pay their bills on Google Pay by scanning a QR code within the app. These payments can only be made when the biller has generated a custom QR code for the customer. Once scanned, users will see the bill amount they need to pay, according to Google.
Google Pay will also allow users to make prepaid utility bills with a new feature. Similar to Paytm’s feature, the app will detect a user’s prepaid utility bills once they have added their customer details to the app. Once done, users will be able to make recurring payments to billers that support prepaid payments. The feature will work across different categories. It is being added in association with NPCI Bharat Billpay.
The Tap & Pay feature with RuPay cards will also be added to Google Pay later this year. With this, RuPay cardholders can add their Rupay card to the app and tap their Near Field Communication (NFC) enabled smartphone on a card reader and make payments. Notably, the card information is not stored in the app, the company said.
Lastly, UPI Lite will feature an auto-pay feature. Users will be able to automatically recharge their UPI Lite account when the balance falls below a certain amount.