UPI Meta: NPCI Plans Saved UPI IDs on Merchant Sites
Why in the news
The National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) is weighing a feature called UPI Meta to make online checkout smoother. It is yet to receive RBI approval.
Key facts
- Today, customers manually choose a UPI app and account at checkout.
- UPI Meta would store the user’s preferred UPI ID on sites such as e-commerce and travel platforms.
- Regulatory step: clearance from the Reserve Bank of India.
Benefits
- Users need not enter a UPI ID or select an app each time, improving experience and success rates.
- It brings UPI in line with card tokenisation, which allows quicker, secure payments without re-entering card details.
Concerns and safeguards
| Concern | Response |
|---|---|
| Large apps such as PhonePe and Google Pay (over 80% of UPI payments) could gain consent first, squeezing smaller apps | NPCI is encouraging smaller apps to improve customer acquisition |
| Smaller apps like Cred, Navi and Super.Money rely on offers and cashback and may lose competitiveness | If a large merchant gets consent via one payment gateway, a different gateway needs fresh explicit consent |
About merchant websites
- A merchant is a seller; its website is an online shop where a proprietor or company takes payments.
- To accept payments, the seller opens a merchant account, a special bank account for customer funds, offered alongside a payment gateway.
Exam angle
- Feature: UPI Meta; body: NPCI; approver: RBI.
- Comparable concept: card tokenisation.
- Risk term: concentration risk.