Airtel makes digital payments much easier; now use any BHIM UPI app at 5 lakh merchants

Airtel Payments bank has enabled its platform with BHIM UPI interface at over 5 lakh merchant points, it announced in a statement. The customers can now make digital payments for goods and services by using any BHIM UPI enabled bank or payments app over their mobile phones, the company added. Airtel is eyeing over one million merchants on its platform over the coming months. It will also be significantly ramping up its offline merchant base. Airtel’s Payment bank was launched before Paytm, which now enjoys a considerable chunk of the market by 19%, Paytm announced recently.

Speaking on the launch, Anubrata Biswas, MD & CEO, Airtel Payments Bank said that the company is committed to the vision of a cashless economy. “We believe that there is already a significant shift to a mobile-first strategy with consumers using functionality rich and user-friendly apps for P2P (peer-to-peer) or P2M (peer-to-merchant) payments,” said Dilip Ashbe, MD & CEO, NPCI. He added that the company’s partnership with Airtel Payments Bank has enabled over half a million offline merchants to receive payments through UPI QR Code.