Paytm integrates with BHIM UPI, aims double user base

To gain fast paced traction given its mammoth consumer and merchant base, digital payments firm Paytm has integrated BHIM UPI, the government-owned mobile payments interface, onto its platform as it looks to double its monthly user base over the next two years.

The Noida-based company, which currently gets about 100 million monthly users on its platform, has made this move following the RBI's guideline for companies and banks to make KYC (know-your-customer) compliant prepaid payment instruments (PPIs) — mobile wallets, interoperable within the next six months.

Introducing BHIM UPI on Paytm. Connect your Bank Account on Paytm App and get your Paytm BHIM UPI Address. https://t.co/at6BaNfHCO

— Paytm (@Paytm) November 7, 2017

“We are now targeting 200 million monthly users in less than two years. UPI will also allow larger ticket size transactions,” said Vijay Shekhar Sharma, founder One97 Communications, reported Mint.

Paytm Payments Bank, which was slated to start UPI-enabled service by August, will allow its users to create their own Paytm BHIM UPI ID on the app, which will be issued by the payments bank.

Paytm users can link any of their savings bank accounts with this ID and start sending and accepting money. With BHIM, the time of transaction reduces between two bank accounts since there's no waiting time required to add a beneficiary.

Besides BHIM, Flipkart-backed PhonePe witnessed a 2X surge in the transaction in August as compared to May this year and has claimed to surpass the government’s payment interface with a 45 percent share of the total transactions processed in August.

Unlike PhonePe and BHIM, Paytm would be leveraging its merchant base, and it claims to have an upper hand with a network of more than 5.5 million merchants when it comes to competition on UPI front.

For countering payment pioneers like Paypal and instant messenger WhatsApp, Paytm plans to invest Rs 5000 crore in the payment business over the next three years.

Recently, the Alibaba-backed company had launched a messaging platform with in-chat payments to counter Whatsapp’s digital wallet. The messaging service ‘Inbox’, will allow consumers to chat, send and request money at the same time.