UPI has revolutionised digital payments in India. The simple, secure, and instant transactions enabled by UPI have made it the preferred payment method for millions of Indians. The convenience of UPI apps, which allow you to pay directly from your bank account, has led to rapid adoption.
However, not all UPI apps are made equal. You must check some key features before deciding which one to use for your daily transactions. Choosing the right UPI payment app ensures seamless payments while keeping your money safe. Here are the top 5 features you must check in a UPI payment app:
Security and Privacy Measures
Security should be the foremost priority when choosing a digital payment app that stores sensitive financial information. Check what safety and privacy features the UPI app provides:
- End-to-end encryption for securing transaction data
- PIN protection for app access
- Secure bank-grade networks certified by PCI DSS standards
- Measures to prevent identity theft and fraud
You should also consider additional factors like transaction value limits, verification steps for sensitive actions like changing bank details, and session timeouts to log users out after idle time automatically.
Lastly, check the UPI provider’s data security policies regarding collecting user information. Your financial data deserves strict confidentiality, so look for data privacy assurance.
User-Friendly Interface
The best things are often the simplest ones. The easier a UPI app is to understand and operate, the better it is. Certain factors lead to a user-friendly interface:
- Clean, minimalist UI design
- Intuitive navigation and commands
- Step-by-step guidance for first-time users
- Quickly accessible menus and pages
- Ability to personalise settings
A good UPI payment app avoids complex menus and options hidden under layers of taps. Everything you commonly need should be accessible with the least number of clicks. Understanding transactions, money transfers, and settings modification should feel effortless.
Wide Range of Bank and Merchant Partnerships
The worth of a payment network grows with the number of people who use it. When choosing a UPI app, check how many major banks have enabled their services on it. Most apps today partner with multiple banks to allow users to add various bank accounts.
Besides banking partners, your UPI app should be widely accepted at merchant outlets for making payments via QR scans or linked virtual IDs. This is now easier to achieve as UPI builds further into offline retail. But do cross-check that your preferred app has rolled out merchant acceptance to cover daily use cases.
Lastly, inspect supported features like the ability to set reminders, share/request money and pay utility/credit card bills. UPI’s versatility can make your financial life much smoother through a single app.
Rewards, Cashback and Offers
Who doesn’t love some extra savings on online shopping or payments? Many UPI apps provide promotional rewards, cashback or discounts to delight customers and incentivise usage.
Paytm leads here with its generous cashback offers across diverse spending categories – online marketplaces, food delivery, movie tickets, etc. Other apps also run limited-time promotions on using preferred payment methods.
Customer Support and Dispute Resolution
Technology may transform banking, but it certainly raises unfamiliar issues for many customers. Your UPI app should offer robust customer assistance via channels like call support, chatbots, emails, social media handles, and FAQs/tutorials.
Check opinions on dealing with customer service for grievance redressal or a better understanding of the app’s functioning. The UPI provider should have personnel well-trained in handling common user problems during signup, transactions etc.
Your bank may primarily handle resolution for transaction disputes, but the UPI app should facilitate the process. See that they provide easy ways to raise disputes and dedicated teams to coordinate closure with requisite parties.
Conclusion
UPI has sizable long-term growth runaway in digital payments thanks to India Stack foundations like Aadhaar and bank account penetration. While multiple excellent UPI apps exist, small checks on core aspects like security, design, partnerships, and assistance will help pick the right fit. Keep assessing these parameters as UPI apps continually evolve on their customer experience.