Google Pay Will Now Allow Users To Add Friends, Family To UPI Circle. A Quick Look At All New GPay Features & Their Benefits
In collaboration with NPCI Bharat BillPay, Google Pay now supports prepaid utilities, allowing users to pay recurring bills for services like energy accounts and housing societies.
Google Pay announced a series of new features and partnerships aimed at enhancing user convenience and expanding access to digital payments in India. The announcements were made at the Global Fintech Fest (GFF) 2024, which concluded today. The new offerings include the UPI Circle, UPI Vouchers, ClickPay QR scan for bill payments, prepaid utilities, Tap & Pay with RuPay cards, and Autopay for UPI Lite.
Here's a quick look at all the new offerings and their primary functions:
UPI Circle
Function: Expanding access to digital payments
Google Pay introduced the UPI Circle, a feature designed to bring digital payments to those who do not have access to their own bank accounts. UPI Circle allows users to delegate payments to trusted family members or friends without requiring secondary users to link their own bank accounts. Users have two delegation options:
- Partial Delegation: The primary user retains control and approves each payment request made by the secondary user
- Full Delegation: Secondary users can make payments independently within a set monthly limit of up to Rs 15,000
As Google Pay partners with NPCI for the launch of UPI Circle, the initiative aims to make digital payments more inclusive and accessible.
UPI Vouchers
Function: A versatile prepaid payment solution
UPI Vouchers, initially introduced for COVID-19 vaccination payments, have evolved into a flexible payment method that allows users to provide prepaid vouchers linked to a recipient’s mobile number.
Beneficiaries can use these vouchers for various transactions without needing to link a bank account. Google Pay is collaborating with NPCI and the Department of Financial Services to make UPI Vouchers accessible to a wider audience, offering an easy way to facilitate digital payments for individuals, businesses, and government entities.
ClickPay QR
Function: Simplify bill payments
Google Pay has launched ClickPay QR in partnership with NPCI Bharat BillPay, simplifying the bill payment process for users.
The new feature allows users to scan ClickPay QR codes generated at the bill account level, fetching the latest bill automatically and enabling fast, secure payments without the need to remember account details or consumer IDs.
Prepaid Utilities Payment
Function: Streamlining recurring bills
In collaboration with NPCI Bharat BillPay, Google Pay now supports prepaid utilities, allowing users to pay recurring bills for services like energy accounts and housing societies.
The feature will help users keep track of all their recurring payments in one place, adding further convenience to their payment experience.
Tap & Pay with RuPay Cards
Function: Contactless payments made easy
Google Pay, in partnership with NPCI, is rolling out Tap & Pay functionality for RuPay cards.
This feature enables RuPay cardholders to add their cards to Google Pay and make payments by simply tapping their mobile phones on card machines. The system provides an added layer of security by safeguarding card details during transactions.
Autopay for UPI Lite
Function: Seamless top-ups for small payments
To further streamline the experience for small transactions, Google Pay is introducing Autopay for UPI Lite.
This feature automatically tops up the user’s UPI Lite account when the balance dips below a certain threshold, ensuring uninterrupted usage for low-value payments.
These new features underscore Google Pay’s commitment to enhancing financial accessibility and convenience for its users in India, contributing to the broader digital payments ecosystem.
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