What is meant by Unified Payments Interface or UPI?
Unified Payments Interface (or UPI) is a NPCI (National Payments Corporation of India, an RBI regulated entity) developped payment system which works over the IMPS infrastructure and offers an immediate money transfer between accounts.
What is UPI pin?
UPI pin is a security measure to protect the money transfer using UPI apps.It consisits of 4-6 digit numeric pin according to the bank account linked to the UPI apps.
Is UPI pin and MPIN same?
MPIN issued by Banks and UPI-PIN is two completely different thing.
Is UPI pin confidential?
UPI apps does not store or read your UPI-PIN details and your bank’s or its customer support will never ask for it. Dont ever share your UPI-PIN with anyone, This may proved to be disastrous for you if it is shared with any one.
What is VPA (A Virtual Payment Address)?
A Virtual Payment Address (VPA) is a unique identifier that helps UPI to track a person’s account. It acts as an ID independent of your bank account number and other details. VPA can be used to make and request payments through a UPI-enabled app.
Paytm
Paytm is a wallet, a payments bank, a payment gateway and many more in one. In short it is indeed one of the leading financial services company offering full-stack payments & financial solutions to consumers, offline merchants and digital platforms i.e. payments, e-commerce, banking, investments, and financial services to name a few.
Pros of Paytm
- Nice wallet services recharge, bill payments, and tons of services
- Zero balance account on Paytm Payments Bank
- Virtual debit card with Paytm Bank account
- No charges on digital transactions.
- Great UPI facility
- Free cibil score
- Paytm Money investment, Systematic Investment Plans (SIPs), Mutual Funds etc.
- Checkout with saved credit or debit cards
- Real-time bank settlements
- Paytm Payment Gateway does not force to only use Paytm or its related products for making payments
- Paytm Mall
- Paytm SBI credit card
Cons of Paytm
- Customer service is not upto expectation
- Most of the service doesn’t have dedicated helpline
- Doesn’t have dedicated email address for support
- Message support is so bad that most of the time you will not be able to message them under proper category. And if you send message under nearest category they will tell that they are sorry but this section cant support you. in one word they have no centralized support system for all your query or problem.
PayZapp
PayZapp which also offers multiple features is a great wallet by HDFC Bank. It gives you the power to pay in just One Click. With PayZapp, you can shop on your mobile at partner apps, buy movie tickets, groceries, compare and book flight tickets and hotels, shop online and get great discounts at SmartBuy, send money to anyone in your contact list or to your bank account, pay bills and recharge your mobile, DTH and data card and many more. You can link your Debit and Credit Card, of any Bank, to PayZapp and enjoy the most convenient and secure way of payment. you can add referal code “sksamim” to your new install to offer me a cup of coffea without any cost to you)
Pros of PayZapp
- Mobile Recharge with 10% cash back every month with code RECHARGE
- Utility Bill Payment with 5% cash back every month with code BILLPAY
- Online Shopping with Virtual debit card
- Scan the QR code via PayZapp and pay with PayZapp
- Pay direct money to anyone via their mobile number, be it friends, family, grocery stores, milkman, house help or tuition teacher and more
- payment to merchants through Online Pay
- UPI facility
- Checkout with saved credit or debit cards
- Can have cashback even when using the wallet money(may be earned by cashback)
Cons of PayZapp
- Full KYC is only for HDFC Bank customers
- Cashback is limited for every month
- Cashback is limited upto Rs 50/- per transaction
- Require PAN card even for minimum KYC
Pockets
Pockets is a e-wallet with a VISA-powered prepaid credit card that customer of any bank can use to recharge mobile, send money, shop anywhere, pay bills and much more. Pockets wallet also comes with a physical shopping card which can be used to shop on any website or retail stores.
Pros of Pockets
- Fund it instantly using any bank debit card or Internet Banking, NEFT from any bank account and it’s ready for use.
- Mobile Recharge with 10% cash back every month
- Utility Bill Payment with 5% cash back every month
- Online Shopping with prepaid Virtual credit card
- Scan to Pay any Bharat QR code
- Good UPI facility
- On demand physical debit card
- Can have cashback even when using the wallet money(may be earned by cashback)
- Provides ICICI internet banking credential
Cons of Pockets
- Cashback is limited for every month
- Cashback is limited upto Rs 50/- per transaction
- Physical debit card has issuance charge
- Pockets internet banking credential has a limited access for non ICICI customers
Amazon Pay
Amazon Pay is also a e-wallet which comes straight from the house of the bohemoth ecommerce giant amazon
Pros of Amazon Pay
- Mobile Recharges, Utility Bill Payments and a ton more
- awesome UPI facility
- Scan to Pay QR code
- Checkout with saved credit or debit cards
- Online Shopping for everything you ever need
- Very easy to use
- Amazon brand recognition and trust
- Wallet balance can be used for everyday purchases from the ecommerce giant
- Good cashback
- Free cibil score
- AmazonPay ICICI credit card
Cons of Amazon Pay
- Cashback now a days is very less
- Wallet offers on bill, recharges as been reduced
- Gives vouchers for shopping that most of the time is unusable mostly for non metro citizens
Freecharge
Freecharge is a wholly owned subsidiary of Axis Bank Limited. FreeCharge help to make prepaid, postpaid, DTH, metro recharge and utility bill payments for numerous service providers
Pros of Freecharge
- Easy and instant Online recharging process
- Safe and secure payment process
- Special Rewards, Cashbacks and discounts
- Smooth processing, fast performance, protected transactions
- Very Good UPI facility
- Scan to Pay facility
- Checkout with saved credit or debit cards
- Axis bank freecharge credi card
Cons of Freecharge
- Email id can never be changed if lost access
PhonePe
PhonePe is a payments app that allows you to super fast money transfers using UPI, your credit card and debit card or wallet to recharge, pay utility bills and many more
Pros of PhonePe
- Pay bills, recharge, send money, buy gold, invest and shop at your favourite stores.
- Choose from options like UPI, the PhonePe wallet or your Debit and Credit Card.
- Book flights, order food or buy groceries.
- Smooth processing, fast performance, protected transactions
- Superb UPI facility
- Scan to Pay payment facility
- Checkout with saved credit or debit cards
Cons of PhonePe
- Now a days nearly no cashback is provided at all
- worthless coupon and vouchers and discounts related to card games
Google Pay
Google Pay Google Pay is a safe, simple, and helpful app to manage money it helps to Pay, Send and receive money instantly.
Pros of Google Pay
- Super fast UPI facility
- Scan to Pay services
- Pay bills, recharge, send money
- It’s more secure than using card or cash.
Cons of Google Pay
- Now a days nearly no cashback is provided at all
- Mostly worthless coupon and vouchers
- No ewallets
BHIM
BHIM or Bharat Interface for Money is a payment app that lets you make simple, easy and quick transactions using Unified Payments Interface (UPI). You can make direct bank payments to anyone on UPI using their UPI ID or scanning their QR with the BHIM app. You can also request money through the app from a UPI ID. Even BHIM supports emandate feature to schedule payments for a later date
Pros of BHIM
- Send money by entering UPI ID , account number, aadhaar or by scanning a QR
- Make payments quicker by scanning the QR of the person you want to send money to. Share your QR to let others make payments to you
- Request money from other UPI users by entering their UPI
- Your UPI passbook on your fingertips. Allows you to download & filter your transaction history. You can also raise disputes in case of failed/pending transactions here.
- Switch between multiple bank accounts linked with your BHIM App. You can set/change your UPI PIN or check your balance
- Very secure app
Cons of BHIM
- The server reply is sometimes slow
- Doesn’t offer any cashback
- Doesn’t have much usable offer
MobiKwik
Pros of MobiKwik
- With money loaded in your MobiKwik wallet, it takes seconds to make phone and DTH recharges!
- Pay all your bills across categories
- UPI money transfer
- Transfer money to Bank
Cons of MobiKwik
- Supercash is not so usable
- Doesn’t offer much cashback
Airtel Money
Airtel Money Wallet is a digital wallet for online recharge, pay utility bills, shop online, and much more. You can enjoy fastest, secure and hassle-free online payments with this.
Pros of Airtel Money
- Savings Bank account
- Virtual debit card
- Recharge prepaid mobiles/DTH and pay utility bills (electricity, water, gas, postpaid, etc.)
- Cashback every month
Cons of Airtel Money
- cashback is very limited
There is plethora of apps in the market and playstore for recharge, UPI money transfer and ewallets. As per my concern I personally use all of the above list rotationaly to maximize the cash back from them. This list is far from complete and only the apps I like is listed here. If you need simplest app to UPI you can go for Gpay, BHIM or PhonePe if you need good ewallet you can go for Pockets, Freecharge or PayZapp , if you are already using amazon youcan go for amazonpay and if you need extensive services with banking etc you can use Paytm or Airtel Money. The final choice completely lies on you what you like or feel comfortable with and you definitly dont need all of them. So my advise will be that you can test the apps and see in which of them you feel comfortable with and stick to that. Dont forget to tell me on the comments which app you like most or you want to include in this list.