Google Pay, Pine Labs tie up to launch Tap to Pay feature for UPI

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Google Pay, in collaboration with Pine Labs, on March 30 announced the launch of Tap to Pay for UPI transactions, a feature that until now was only available for debit and credit cards.

All a user will need to do is tap their phone on the POS terminal and authenticate the payment from their phone, using the UPI PIN, making the process instantaneous, as compared to scanning a QR code, or entering the UPI-linked mobile number, the companies said in a joint statement.

“Tap to Pay for UPI has profound implications for high traffic retail outlets, with queue management hassles poised to be greatly reduced, and taking digital payments at POS well beyond cards,” said Sajith Sivanandan, Business Head Google Pay and Next Billion User initiatives, Google APAC.

The facility will be available to UPI users who want to use their NFC-enabled Android smartphone to transact using any Pine Labs Android POS terminal across the country.

This was piloted with Reliance Retail and will now be available at other merchants such as Starbucks.

“With Rs 8.26 lakh crore worth of transactions in just the month of December 2021, UPI has taken off in a big way in India. We believe this (collaboration with Google Pay) will further strengthen UPI acceptance in India and appeal to consumers, especially the youth population who have taken a liking for contactless and digital payments,” said Kush Mehra, Chief Business Officer, Pine Labs.

Disclosure: MoneyControl is a part of the Network18 group. Network18 is controlled by Independent Media Trust, of which Reliance Industries is the sole beneficiary.