A step wise guide on how to make UPI payments through your mobile phones without internet

The National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) came up with a system to access mobile banking without any internet connection four years prior to the launch of UPI.

UPI payments UPI payments was first introduced in India in 2016. (Source: freepik)was first introduces in India in 2016. (Source: freepik)

Ever since its inception in 2016, the Unified Payments Interface (UPI) has become an essential part of Indian citizens as the UPI payments allow them to conduct hassle-free and without any additional charges free transactions in minutes, which spares them from the burden of carrying cash or cards everywhere they go. The Unified Payments Interface (UPI) is basically a technology that integrates multiple banking operations, seamless fund routing, and merchant payments under one roof by enabling several bank accounts into a single mobile application. In addition, it also supports “Peer to Peer” collection requests, which can be organised and financed according to convenience and necessity.

Notably, according to common beliefs, if one has to make UPI payments, that person is required to have a smartphone with internet connectivity to do so, but that is not true as the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) came up with a system to access mobile banking without any internet connection, four years prior to the launch of UPI. The system later on also included UPI payments later on. In 2012, the NCPI launched a new Unstructured Supplementary Service Data (USSD) based service that allows bank account holders to perform multiple banking activities through their mobile phones without having any internet connections by dialling *99# on their mobile phones.

How do *99# services work?

To use the service, users simply have to dial *99# on their mobile phones, and an interactive menu with multiple banking options will appear on their screen, which they can use to access their banking activities.

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What are the services that *99# can be used for?

In addition to an array of other services, the main ones provided by the *99# are setting or modifying UPI PINs, sending and receiving interbank account-to-account payments, and checking balances.

What are the steps involved in setting and making UPI payments through *99#?

Steps involved in setting UPI payments through *99#:

Step 1: Dial *99# on your mobile using the bank account linked number.

Step 2: Choose your preferred language.

Step 3: Choose your bank from the given list of banks, then choose the account number you wish to use.

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Step 4: You will be asked to enter the last digit and expiry date of your debit card, enter the required numbers, and your UPI ID is ready to use.

Given below are the steps to make UPI payments using *99#:

Step 1: Dial *99# on your mobile phone.

Step 2: Choose option 1, “Send Money”.

Step 3: Enter the mobile number or the UPI ID of the person you want to send the money to.

Step 4: Enter the exact amount you wish to transfer.

Step 5: Enter the secure pin for your UPI ID, and your transaction will be complete.

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