UPI

About

UPI, or "Unified Payments Interface," is a payment method that was developed by the National Payments Corporation of India and is regulated by the Reserve Bank of India. It is an instant, real-time payment system that instantly transfers funds between two bank accounts.

The UPI method allows users to make withdrawals from and deposits to the user's bank account (this is unlike a wallet-type payment method).

Payment Flow

Here's a quick run-through of how UPI works from the National Payments Corporation of India

This is how UPI looks in Uber's checkout model

Properties

FAQ

How does a consumer pay an online merchant through UPI?

When a customer shops online, she can pay through UPI when she sees UPI as a payment option. On clicking that, she will need to enter her Payment Address (eg - xyz@upi). Once entered, she will receive a collect request on her BHIM app. Upon entering her UPI-PIN, her payment will be complete.

Do money transfers happen on UPI only during banking hours?

All payments are instant and 24/7, regardless of the bank's working hours.

What happens when a customer doesn't receive items, but has paid?

Once a customer completes a transaction, she should see a success status on the BHIM screen and receive an SMS from her bank. In some cases due to operator issues it can take a longer time. In case your customer has not received confirmation within an hour, UPI advises them to please contact the customer support at the bank.

How can a customer view her transaction history?

Go to Home Screen ->Transaction History, to view all past and pending transactions.

What if my customer's account is debited but the transaction does not go through?

UPI provides for real time reversals for declines. The reversal amount would be transferred back to the payer account immediately. In case if it does not reverse the amount immediately, the customer can contact your bank for the same.

Can I put a stop payment request for funds transferred by UPI?

No, once the payment is initiated, it cannot be stopped.

See a full list of FAQs here

Best Practices

• To direct a customer to pay online with their UPI Account:
  • They must check that their bank supports a mobile UPI app.
    • 2-Factor Authentication is required by the Reserve Bank of India. UPI uses MPIN (issued when the customer signs up for mobile banking) for 2FA.

Technical Considerations

• All local orders in India must include the PAN number in the "NationalIdentifier" field in this format "[PAN]". For example: "NationalIdentifier":"ARLPA0061H"

Testing

The PAN needs to adhere to the formats laid out in our country data page.

{
  "MerchantId": "[MID Here]",
  "ReferenceId": "1527103958939",
  "PaymentMethod": "UPI",
  "ConsumerCurrency": "INR",
  "Capture": true,
  "Items": [
    {
      "Description": "Frying Pan",
      "ConsumerPrice": 100,
      "Quantity": 1,
      "Sku": "4383471583721"
    }
  ],
  "Consumer": {
    "Name": "Jane Doe",
    "Email": "[email protected]",
    "Phone": "1234567890",
    "Address": "123 Any Street",
    "City": "Somewhere",
    "Region": "AP",
    "PostalCode": "12345",
    "Country": "IN",
    "NationalIdentifier": "ARLPA0061H"
  },
  "DeviceFingerprint": "dbffd7f3-aa47-4ae2-a20c-1923f05d4bbd",
  "Return": "https://checkout-sandbox.gointerpay.net/return.php"
}

{
  "OrderId": "1d3b7666-67c6-4d69-9385-18a331eb2d5d",
  "UnderReview": false,
  "Expiry": "2018-06-02T19:43:24Z",
  "Authorized": false,
  "Completed": false,
  "Captured": false,
  "Action": {
    "Redirect": "https://sandbox.gointerpay.net/auth/cc675bb0-fe3e-479e-8965-ea512d31c4e3"
  }
}

Related Information

The National Institution for Transforming India, or "NITI" (a branch of the Government of India) provides further information here.

Please see our most recent API guide.