PhonePe gets UPI Lite support, now lets users make payments without UPI PIN

PhonePe has finally introduced the UPI Lite feature on its app. It is a digital payment service designed by the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) and launched by the Reserve Bank of India in September 2022 . The UPI Lite feature allows users to make faster and easier payments for small transactions. UPI Lite enables users to send money up to Rs 200 with a single tap from their UPI Lite account, without entering a pin. PhonePe says that this feature will enhance the user experience and reduce transaction failures. The launch of UPI Lite comes two months after PhonePe's rival Paytm rolled out the same feature on its app.

According to PhonePe, the new UPI Lite feature on its app allows users to pay by using the balance stored on their device's UPI Lite account, without connecting to their banks' real-time systems (the sender's bank). This makes the transaction faster and smoother than regular UPI transactions and increases the chances of success.

The company also says that users can use UPI Lite on PhonePe to pay at any UPI merchant or QR code across the country, with the support of all major banks. The feature works through a balance that is stored on the device and enables faster real-time payment solutions for small transactions such as groceries and transit, even during peak hours.

"UPI Lite is a core part of the UPI stack offering, with a vision to enhance the users' digital payments experience for frequent and low-ticket size spends. Small-ticket transactions make up a significant volume of the overall UPI payments, and UPI Lite will make them quicker and convenient, without putting a strain on the existing UPI infrastructure. UPI Lite also paves the way to introduce use cases that need payment execution without network connectivity making it one of the most exciting launches from NPCI in recent times. This is a crucial step towards increasing the adoption of digital payments for users across India, further strengthening a cashless economy. We are optimistic that India will embrace the feature for faster and hassle-free low-value payments," said Rahul Chari, Co-founder, and Chief Technology Officer at PhonePe.

How to activate PhonePe UPI Lite

PhonePe users can easily activate the UPI Lite feature through a simple process without any KYC authentication.

To activate your Phone Pe Lite-

- Step 1: Open the PhonePe app.

- Step 2: On the home screen, tap on the option to enable UPI Lite.

- Step 3: Enter the amount you want to add to UPI Lite and select your bank account.

- Step 4: Enter your UPI Pin and your UPI Lite account will be enabled successfully.

Notably, users can load up to Rs. 2000 in their UPI Lite account on PhonePe and make payments of up to Rs. 200 or less at a time. They will also receive a daily SMS from their bank with the UPI Lite transaction history. This also avoids cluttering the bank statements/passbooks with small-value transactions, as they will only appear in the UPI Lite account.