Here is All You Need to Know About UPI AutoPay

The National Payment Corporation of India (NPCI) launched UPI AutoPay on 22nd July 2020 for recurring payments using the UPI trail. This feature was introduced for the convenience of the buyers. The users can now set automatic monthly payments for recurring use cases including bill payments, utility recharge, loan repayment, mutual fund investments, content subscription, grocery purchases, housing society payments and membership fees. The autopay allows users to make recurring transactions below Rs. 5,000 through UPI apps such as Paytm. Further in this article, we have discussed in detail, what is UPI AutoPay and all you need to know about it.

What is UPI AutoPay?

UPI is one of the most popularly used payment sources in India. UPI automatic payment is a feature through which an individual can automate the monthly payments of a fixed amount that will be deducted from the account on a particular date. An individual can use this service for paying bills, availing content subscriptions, utility services, etc. UPI AutoPay is a brilliant initiative taken by NPCI that lets its customers make recurring payments using UPI-linked bank accounts.

The digitalization of use cases such as bill payments, financial investments and rapid adaptation of OTT platforms is increasing the demands of subscription-based payments in India. And, with a recurring payment facility, the company aims to enhance the convenience of the customers so that they can enjoy seamless services without any disruptions. Moreover, it also benefits the merchants with the timely receipts of payments.

How Does UPI AutoPay Work?

Since the launch of UPI AutoPay, major UPI applications have offered an option of ‘Mandate’. This option allows the users to create, modify, approve, revoke or pause the auto-debit mandate. To use these features, the app users need to provide a one-time approval to the merchants for whom they want to automate payments on the platform. Besides this, other details such as subscription start date, merchant name, debit frequency are also needed to be filled in while creating the subscription. Let’s take a look at the steps involved in using UPI AutoPay.

• The customers will have to choose a subscription plan
• The customers will have to approve a transaction via a UPI PIN. ( This is a one-time activity for authenticating a transaction
• Recurring payments are deducted in a completely automated manner not recurring any further actions from the customers
• The customers have the flexibility to revoke or pause the mandates at any point in time via the UPI app
• The customers can set mandates for recurring payments of weekly, monthly, quarterly, half-yearly, yearly or as-presented frequency.

Benefits of UPI AutoPay

UPI AutoPay is very beneficial to users as it is a safe and convenient way of making recurring payments. Here are some of the benefits of using UPI AutoPay.

• Payments can be automated easily from the existing UPI account on the UPI AutoPay enabled app
• Users can set recurring payments of the amount Rs.1 to Rs. 5000
• Offers a hassle-free and secure way of initiating recurring payments
• Setting mandated do not require paperwork or documentation
• Helps in cashless and digital payments
• Timely payments reduce the possibility of penalties and late fees, which is very important for any business
• The customers can modify/pause/revoke the plan whenever required after creating a mandate

How Users can Enable UPI AutoPay with Paytm Subscriptions?

Paytm has added UPI-linked bank accounts as a payment source on its recurring payment solution. The existing Paytm users can enable UPI AutoPay by visiting the ‘Automatic Payments’ tab under the bank section on the Paytm app.

Also, in case the user doesn’t have the balance for scheduled payment on a particular month then he/she can easily pause the payment for that month and re-enable it again for the upcoming month. However, it is important to keep in mind that re-enabling, pausing or deleting a standing instruction is done before the payment date.

Even though Paytm already has the option of recurring payment via bank accounts and cards using the National Payment Corporation of India (NPCI’s) e-mandate, the automatic recurring payments for the subscription-based spending is the first payment platform in the country as per the RBI guidelines. Also, with this new feature, the payments can be done using Paytm wallet. However, for recurring payments via wallet, a maximum amount of Rs.2000 is capped for each transaction.

Wrapping it Up!

Backed by a powerful Paytm subscription solution, UPI AutoPay is easy to use and offers a host of features that makes it one of the most popular and convenient payment solutions available in the market. With the automation of bill payment, the customers can now not only enjoy a seamless service but can also save themselves from unnecessary hassle and fraud.