UPI 2.0 ready for mid-August launch: Report

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The second version of the Unified Payments Interface (UPI 2.0) will be launched around mid-August, but without the option of setting up recurring payments, BloombergQuint reports.

This feature will be absent from UPI 2.0 due to security concerns and because the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) is not sure of how customers would accept it, the report said.

At present, customers can give an electronic clearing service (ECS) mandate to banks to make recurring payments to merchants, including electricity providers and telecom firms.

The same option is unlikely to be introduced in UPI immediately, though it was widely expected, the report said.

Moneycontrol could not independently verify the news.

The NPCI, which develops UPI, will add several new features to the updated payment interface, the report added.

Customers can now view the invoice before approving a transaction paid to a merchant.

Inward remittances will be allowed, making it easier for non-resident Indians (NRIs) to send money to their families in India.

Banks will be able to provide overdraft facilities to users, based on the funds in a user’s savings account.

NPCI has also devised a way to verify QR codes issued by smaller merchants.

UPI was first launched in April 2016.