'This will bring in a lot of net new users to UPI.'
The Bharat Interface for Money (BHIM) app on Tuesday launched a full delegation feature for UPI Circle, aiming to net new users on the real-time payments rails.
The feature will allow primary users to authorise their trusted secondary contacts to make UPI payments from their account, subject to a maximum monthly limit of Rs 15,000.
"This will bring in a lot of net new users to UPI. For instance, people like senior citizens are hesitant users. Children, often those in their teens, know how to use UPI but prefer pocket money. These categories bring you net new users in the ecosystem in a guarded manner," Lalitha Nataraj, managing director and chief executive officer, NPCI BHIM Services Limited (NBSL), told Business Standard.
A primary account can delegate UPI payments to up to five secondary users, but each secondary user can be linked to only one primary account for payments.
A secondary user may or may not have a bank account.
However, they should be registered on the BHIM app with a valid virtual payments address.
At present, Unified Payments Interface (UPI) has over 450 million registered users. It is run by the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI).
UPI Circle was launched in 2024. It comes with a feature to partially and fully delegate payments.
Unlike full delegation, partial delegation requires approval from the primary user for every transaction.
"We feel that as a result of the full delegation rollout, both full and partial will find their own niche use cases and both of them will grow," Nataraj added.
More apps are set to take full delegation for UPI Circle live in the coming months.
"We've also been testing this with other participants because it is in our own interest that others should go live, else the network effects will never come into play. Everybody will go live soon. Over the next few months, you will find more apps coming in," Nataraj explained.
NBSL was incorporated in 2024, as a wholly-owned subsidiary of the NPCI.
How to set up full delegation UPI payment in BHIM?
To set up full delegated UPI payments, one needs to go to the BHIM App, head to UPI Circle and invite the person using their contact or UPI ID.
Choose full delegation, verify their identity, and set a monthly limit of up to Rs 15,000 along with the validity period.
Select your bank account, authorise with your UPI PIN, and once the secondary user accepts and completes a brief cooling period, they can start making payments.
For example, a primary user like a parent can authorise payments to their children, up to a set monthly limit, following which their secondary users (children, in this case) can transact using the UPI Circle feature.
Business owners can delegate payments to their staff to transact on their behalf.
A debit transaction to the primary user's account from a secondary user, will be recorded as a UPI Circle payment in the person's banking transaction history.
Feature Presentation: Aslam Hunani/Rediff