==Main Note - [Payment Systems](Payment%20Systems.md)== 1. It is one of the [payment systems in India](Payment%20Systems.md). 2. April 11, 2016 - Unified Payments Interface (UPI) was officially launched by the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) by the then-governor of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), Raghuram Rajan, with 21 member banks. 3. UPI (a fast payment system) is operated by NPCI ([a payment system operator](https://www.rbi.org.in/Scripts/PublicationsView.aspx?id=12043#:~:text=National%20Payments%20Corporation%20of%20India%20(NPCI))), and other participants of the system are 1. Payer PSP (Payment Service Provider) which are banks, and connect users to their bank accounts where the funds lie, 2. Remitter Bank - bank account where the user's funds lie 3. Payee PSP (banks) 4. Beneficiary Bank, 5. App like TPAP, that provide the interface for users to initiate transactions, and the 6. Users (payer and payee). 3. Here TPAP is consumer-facing app, authorised by NPCI to facilitate UPI transactions through their sponsor PSP. 4. In other words, TPAPs are a service provider and participate in UPI through PSP Banks. TPAP rely on a backend partner bank (sponsor PSP) to function as the PSP. 5. Only Banks can be PSP, not any fintech app/TPAP. 6. These TPAP are bound by tripartite agreements entered with NPCI and each of our the sponsor PSP’s 7. Examples of Third-Party App Provider (TPAP) for UPI transactions/ Third-Party UPI App are [Google Pay](https://pay.google.com/intl/en_in/about/external/npci/), Paytm, PhonePe, etc. 1. So a user can have several UPI VPA. Example-On Google Pay, one can create VPA through the PSP bank they have partnered like Axis Bank, SBI, etc which would appear like ..@okaxis, @oksbi respectively. Here Axis Bank is a PSP bank, that is a member of UPI and it connects directly to the UPI, and provides UPI payment facility to another TPAP. So TPAP provides the user interface and connects the user to PSP, and PSP connects the end user to their bank account. When a transaction is done, the PSP connects to the UPI switch at NPCI. 2. On PhonePe UPI, VPA are in format ..@ybl, etc..So a user can have multiple VPA created by same PSP like axis bank and (connect to the same underlying bank account where money is stored) 8. **UPI and Bharat QR Code** - ==As of now in India, there are 2 interoperable QR (Quick Response) codes - UPI QR and Bharat QR.== 1. [February 20, 2017](RBI_Speeches_20170220_Payment%20Systems%20-%20Next%20Orbit_Shri%20R.%20Gandhi,%20Deputy%20Governor%20at%20the%20launch%20of%20Bharat%20QR%20Code.pdf)- Bharat QR code was launched 2. It was developed by NPCI and the four major card networks (Visa, MasterCard, RuPay and American Express) under the guidance of RBI, to allow payments to merchants without PoS terminals scanning the QR code (static and dynamic QR) at merchant's location using (initially) few apps like HDFC Bank's Payzapp and ICICI's Pockets app, and paying via cards (credit, debit or prepaid cards). Later apps of several banks were integrated. 3. So it works as a common interface for the Visa/MasterCard/RuPay platform. 4. March 2018 - NPCI asked all UPI apps to be able to scan and generate Bharat QR codes. 5. UPI was _launched_ in India on April 11, 2016. 6. So customers can scan Bharat QR code using UPI apps like BHIM, Bank UPI apps, UPI TPAPS like GooglePay, PhonePe 7. Bharat QR codes comes under UPI/Cards payment system. It is Person-to-Merchant (P2M) payment system 8. [October 22, 2020](RBI_Notification_20201022_%20Digital%20Payment%20Transactions%20–%20Streamlining%20QR%20Code%20infrastructure.pdf) - RBI directed PSO and banks to phase our their proprietary (closed-loop) QR codes by 31 March 2022. Only the interoperable QR codes, which were only two in India at that time, viz., Bharat QR and UPI QR were to be allowed. Few other suggestions of the committee were also implemented. 1. [November 08, 2019](RBI_Press%20Release_20191108_%20Furthering%20Digital%20Payments.pdf) - Reserve Bank had constituted a Committee (Chairperson : Prof Deepak Phatak) to review the current system of Quick Response (QR) Codes in India and suggest measures for moving towards interoperable QR Codes 2. [July 22, 2022](RBI_Press%20Release_20200722_RBI%20releases%20‘Report%20of%20the%20Committee%20for%20Analysis%20of%20QR%20Code’%20for%20public%20comments.pdf) - The committee submitted its [report](RBI_Group-Committee_20200722_Report%20of%20the%20Committee%20on%20the%20Analysis%20of%20QR%20(Quick%20Response)%20Code.pdf). 9. UPI QR allows both P2P and P2M using 1. bank accounts, and 2. some UPI app/s are now having credit card as option to pay like Rupay Credit Card like BHIM UPI app 10. Bharat QR code is only used for P2M transactions via cards (only specific bank apps/card network apps that show cards as payment options) and UPI (UPI only or other apps. The limits are same.  If one is using a dedicated banking app and the merchant has a true Bharat QR sticker (which usually has a different, denser pattern than a standard UPI QR), they can still pay with cards. If one is scanning a generic UPI QR code, then the user can pay by UPI or a linked RuPay credit card (in some UPI app). 9. [Aug 16, 2018](RBI_Speeches_20180817_Innovation%20in%20Retail%20Payments_Urjit%20R.%20Patel_Governor_Address%20at%20the%20Launch%20of%20Unified%20Payments%20Interface%20UPI%202.pdf) - A new, enhanced version of the Unified Payments Interface (UPI) was launched 10. [January 10, 2020](RBI_Press%20Release_20200110_Processing%20of%20e-mandate%20in%20Unified%20Payments%20Interface%20(UPI)%20for%20recurring%20transactions.pdf) - RBI allowed processing of e-mandate on UPI for recurring transactions. It was first announced on [Nov 08, 2019](RBI_Press%20Release_20191108_%20Furthering%20Digital%20Payments.pdf). 11. [March 8, 2022](RBI_Press%20Release_20220308_Reserve%20Bank%20of%20India%20launches%20(a)%20UPI%20for%20Feature%20Phones%20(UPI123pay)%20and%20(b)%2024x7%20Helpline%20for%20Digital%20Payments%20(DigiSaathi).pdf) - UPI for featured phones was launched. 12. [Feb 12, 2024](RBI_Press%20Release_20240212_Honorable%20Prime%20Minister%20of%20India,%20Honorable%20Prime%20Minister%20of%20Mauritius%20and%20Honorable%20President%20of%20Sri%20Lanka%20witnessed%20the%20launch%20of%20India’s%20RuPay%20:%20UPI%20connectivity%20with%20Mauritius%20and%20Sri%20Lanka.pdf) - Unified Payments Interface (UPI) connectivity between India and Mauritius, as well as UPI connectivity between India and Sri Lanka was launched. 13. Feb 21, 2023 - RBI announced the [UPI-PayNow (Singapore) Linkage](https://rbi.org.in/scripts/FAQView.aspx?Id=156). 14. [Feb 21, 2023](RBI_Press%20Release_20230221_%20Extending%20UPI%20for%20Inbound%20Travellers%20to%20India.pdf) - A facility to enable all in-bound travellers visiting India to make local payments using UPI-PPI apps while they are in India, was launched by NPCI. It allows to load money into prepaid wallets (that is PPI in form of wallets, called UPI One World) using their (international) debit/credit cards. There are many authorised UPI-PPI apps like CheQ, IDFC FIRST ₹UPI, Money UPI, NamasPay, etc. 15. [Feb 15, 2024](RBI_Press%20Release_20240215_Terms%20of%20Reference%20signed%20between%20Reserve%20Bank%20of%20India%20and%20Nepal%20Rastra%20Bank%20on%20Integration%20of%20Unified%20Payments%20Interface%20(UPI)%20of%20India%20with%20National%20Payments%20Interface%20(NPI)%20of%20Nepal%20for%20cross-border%20remittances.pdf) - Terms of Reference for integration of UPI with NPI (Nepal) for cross-border remittances was announced, with commencement of operations to be done at a later date. 16. By March 2024, UPI was processing close to 42 crore transactions in a day. [^1] 17. Sep 24, 2025 - An article titled "Impact of UPI on Cash Demand – Evidence from National and Subnational Levels", by Sakshi Awasthy and Subrat Kumar Seet, was published in RBI Bulletin-Sept 2025. [Link](https://rbi.org.in/scripts/BS_ViewBulletin.aspx?Id=23646) | [pdf](RBI_Monthly_Bulletin_Article_20250924_Impact%20of%20UPI%20on%20Cash%20Demand-Evidence%20from%20National%20and%20Subnational%20Levels.pdf) 18. [Nov 21, 2025](RBI_Press%20Release_20251121_Interlinking%20of%20Unified%20Payments%20Interface%20(UPI)%20with%20the%20TARGET%20Instant%20Payment%20Settlement%20(TIPS)%20of%20the%20Eurosystem.pdf) - RBI announced the start the realisation phase for Interlinking of Unified Payments Interface (UPI) with the TARGET Instant Payment Settlement (TIPS) of the Eurosystem 19. An excerpt from March 10, 2025 Speech by Sanjay Malhotra 1. We have introduced many new features on UPI and expanded its scope to cater to different needs of customers. These include UPI123Pay, UPI Lite, linking RuPay credit cards to UPI, processing payment mandates with single-block-and-multiple-debits, enabling Credit Lines for UPI, linking PPIs with UPI, etc. UPI with its multiple features, allows us to transfer money, pay bills, and make purchases with a simple click, tap or scan. We will continue to proactively support the development of the payment ecosystem. >Further Reading: >1. [Box IX.1 Project Nexus: A Multilateral Approach for Inter-linking Fast Payment Systems (FPS)](RBI_Annual%20Report_2025.pdf#page=194&selection=169,0,171,4) in RBI's Annual Report-2025 >2. [RBI_Annual Report_2025](RBI_Annual%20Report_2025.pdf) ## References 1. NPCI Website. About UPI. [Link](https://www.npci.org.in/product/upi/about-upi) 2. [More References](Payment%20Systems.md#References) 3. ==PIB. (July 2025). India’s UPI Revolution. Explainer series. [pdf](PIB_Explainer_20250720_India’s%20UPI%20Revolution.pdf)== 4. RBI. Sep 24, 2025. Impact of UPI on Cash Demand – Evidence from National and Subnational Levels. Authors - Sakshi Awasthy and Subrat Kumar Seet. RBI Bulletin-Sept 2025. [Link](https://rbi.org.in/scripts/BS_ViewBulletin.aspx?Id=23646) | [pdf](RBI_Monthly_Bulletin_Article_20250924_Impact%20of%20UPI%20on%20Cash%20Demand-Evidence%20from%20National%20and%20Subnational%20Levels.pdf) [^1]: Shaktikanta Das. (Mar 04, 2024). Address by Governor, Reserve Bank of India at the Digital Payments Awareness Week celebrations, March 4, 2024, RBI, Mumbai. [Link](https://rbi.org.in/scripts/BS_SpeechesView.aspx?Id=1422)