Genesis of UPI QR Code in India
On the eventful evening of 8 November 2016, when in a televised address to the nation, Hon’ble Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced the decision to demonetize all ₹500 and ₹1000 banknotes of the Mahatma Gandhi series, the country was in a deep shock. His decision invalidated 86% of the currency that was in circulation then. The Prime Minister claimed that the action would curtail the shadow economy. It would reduce the use of counterfeit and illicit cash for the funding of illegal activities and terrorism.
Since the demonetization, Government of India has been giving a big push for digital payments. To promote the Digital India Initiative and to encourage cashless transactions, the GoI launched the Unified Payments Interface (UPI). The indigenous mobile application called BHIM (Bharat Interface of Money) app is a unified payments app enabling people to make cashless transactions.
Cashless Money Transactions
There have been various other mechanisms for cashless money transfer that have been used by all of us over the past decade – in the form of Debit cards, Credit cards, Net banking, etc. – but they had strings attached such as the costs of owning the card swipe machines and transaction fees imposed by the banks. Therefore, to encourage seamless cashless transactions, the Govt. of India has launched BHIM UPI, which is slowly but surely helping businesses grow.
What is UPI QR Code?
QR (Quick Response) code is a two-dimensional machine-readable code which is made up of black and white squares. This code is used to store the URL and other merchant-related information. This QR code is readable by the camera of a smartphone and it used to receive payments from the UPI apps. According to the RBI, the BHIM UPI Code is the world’s first inter-operable payment system. This is a more standardized and streamlined system which will reduce the technological problems and people won’t have to depend on cards for cashless payments. The BHIM UPI code can be scanned by your mobile and there can be an easy transfer of money from one source to another.
How Does A QR Code Work?
The BHIM UPI QR Code of the receiver is scanned by the payers with a UPI mobile app to make payment. First, payment is debited from payer’s account by the payer’s bank. Then, the payer’s bank sends credit details to the receiver’s bank and the receiver’s bank credits the amount into the payer’s bank account. After the amount is credited into payer’s account, the payer can use the amount to make a payment or withdraw the amount.
How To Generate QR Code Using Khatabook?
With the Khatabook QR Code Generator, you can easily generate a UPI QR Code for your business, for FREE. Here is a step by step guide:
- Visit the Khatabook QR page.
- Enter the following details carefully:
- Name
- Phone Number
- Pin Code
- You will be taken to our WhatsApp Chat.
- Provide your details like your Payee Name, VPA and more.
- You will be guided through the whole process and your unique QR Code will be generated.
The best part is, you can also get your Khatabook QR Code delivered at your doorstep for free! You will receive your QR Code with 8-10 business days. Display the printed UPI QR Code on your shop or office space. Also, you can share your UPI QR code image with your friends, customers and relatives. Ask them to scan it with their UPI app or BHIM UPI app to make payments to you. Once the payment is received, you will receive an SMS and/or a notification from your bank.
What are the Benefits of Having A UPI QR Code?
About a decade ago, nobody in India could have imagined the immense benefits of Japanese invention – Quick Response (QR) code. It has made the process of making payments simpler. A QR Code can store up to 4296 alphanumeric characters and unlike a barcode, it can be scanned in any direction for the facilitation of payment.
#1. No Need for Additional Set-up
There is no requirement for a merchant to install a Point of Sale (PoS) machine at their store. This has reduced an entry barrier to acquiring merchants at a low cost. Moreover, the young consumers of the modern era are becoming more and more impatient day by day. They want a solution that is quickly and readily available in their hand and QR code offers exactly that. UPI QR code benefits the merchant as well as the consumers. There is no need to input any transaction-related data, which is appealing to today’s young generation.
#2. Reduced Transaction-Related Errors
After demonetization, QR code-based payment is rapidly picking up pace. For instance, you can simply scan a QR code to pay utility bills, grocery, fuel, travel and several other categories. The BHIM UPI QR Code is a platform that works with card schemes namely RuPay, Mastercard and Visa. Moreover, it offers flexibility to the user to pay card or UPI, thereby increasing the probability of transaction completion for a merchant.
#3. Secure Transactions & Interoperability
Just by scanning the QR code, you are avoiding any data loss or security breach. The UPI QR code is made interoperable so that the customers can pay as per their will & use any app of their choice. As a result, the payments ecosystem has now leapfrogged from withdrawing cash from ATMs to using mobile-based payments. This has skipped the need to deploy PoS terminals, too.
Final Takeaway
Financial literacy in India still has a long way to go. We should reap the benefits of our demographic dividend. The youth should take lead in educating the population about innovations like the UPI QR code. India is witnessing a tipping point for technology adoption especially in the case of financial inclusion. While the government encourages digital transactions to the general public on one side, technology will be the multiplier effect. Transitioning to digital payments has been helping SMEs profit in a significant manner. The biggest challenge would be the awareness and how we can make it simple for mass adoption, as the adoption is a must due to its immense benefits for your business.
