UPI for Business: Key Benefits, Usage, and Tips

byKiran BishtFebruary 10, 2025

As a business owner, opting for UPI can open up a world of opportunities from expanding your customer base to improving cash flow and enhancing overall operational efficiency. By adopting and integrating UPI into your payment ecosystem, you can offer your customers a familiar and trusted payment option. This will not only result in a better user experience but also help you take the benefit from its low-cost structure and real-time settlement capabilities. 

In this comprehensive blog post, we will guide you through the step-by-step process of setting up UPI for your business, highlighting the key benefits and considerations along the way.

What is UPI in Business?

UPI, or Unified Payments Interface, is a payment system developed by the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) that allows businesses in India to send and receive money seamlessly. It provides a common platform for different banks, enabling businesses to make and receive payments using various payment methods such as mobile wallets, QR codes, and bank accounts. UPI in business simplifies transactions, enhances convenience, reduces costs, and promotes digital transformation in the payment ecosystem.

Benefits of UPI for Businesses

      • UPI transactions are usually free or contain minimal charges, making it cost-effective for businesses.
      • UPI reduces physical cash transferring and reduces the cost associated with bank handling, thus enabling a lower operating cost. 
      • UPI provides a seamless payment experience, allowing customers to complete transactions easily and hassle-free, further enhancing customer satisfaction. 
      • UPI also promotes flexible options through which customers can pay such as QR codes, UPI IDs, and phone numbers. 
      • UPI enables real-time settlements, improving cash flow management for businesses that further maintain liquidity. 
      • UPI provides detailed transaction records immediately making it easier to manage and keep track of transactions. 
      • UPI can reach a wider customer base. With the feature of 24/7 availability, businesses can receive payments anytime and anywhere, catering to the needs of customers from all around the world. 
      • UPI transactions are secured by two-step authentication. 
      • UPI employs advanced encryption and complies with regulatory requirements, safeguarding businesses and customers from potential fraud. 

      How Different Business Uses of UPI?

      • UPI efficiently smoothens the checkout process for online consumers while shopping, promoting an increase in sales.
      • While handling in-store transactions, retailers can accept UPI payments through UPI QR codes, encouraging quick and contactless user-friendly transactions. 
      • Can receive payments instantly using UPI, reducing wait time for bill settlement. 
      • Using UPI can lead to quicker payments and correspondingly quicker table turnovers resulting in accommodating more customers and increasing profit for the business. 
      • Both customers and food delivery companies receive real-time payment confirmation that helps in escalating the speed of secure payments. 
      • UPI ensures a quick and seamless payment for instant booking of hotels, flights, and other travel services. 
      • Quick payments during emergency medical situations lead to getting immediate access to medical and healthcare services. 
      • Minimise errors related to handling cash manually and maintaining transaction records. 
      • Businesses can incorporate UPI and provide discounts and cashback on utility services such as electricity, water, and gas bills, streaming services, salons etc, attracting more customers. 

      How to Get UPI For Business?

      Follow these simple steps to get started:

      • Step 1: Download the UPI app such as Paytm for merchants.
      • Step 2: Enter your mobile number and verify. 
      • Step 3: Set up the UPI account by linking the bank account as registered with your mobile number. 
      • Step 4: Create your UPI PIN and generate UPI QR code.
      • Step 5: Display this QR code to accept payments, and track and manage transactions.  

      Tips to Enhance UPI Transaction Success Rate in Businesses 

      Follow these tips to enhance the success rate of UPI transactions in your business and to provide a smooth and satisfactory experience for your customers- 

      Tip 1: Ensure a stable internet connection to prevent payment failures.

      Tip 2: Use reliable hardware. Reliable devices can minimize technical glitches and ensure a smoother experience for customers. 

      Tip 3: Provide multiple payment options such as mobile number, QR code, and UPI ID, to ensure the comfort of the customer. 

      Tip 4: Provide a personalized and low-effort payment experience on the website to reduce the shopping cart abandonment rate. This can include providing a ‘save card’ option on the payment page or providing linked wallets while showing options for payment. 

      Regulated by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), the Unified Payments Interface (UPI) has revolutionized how businesses in India send and receive money, offering a fast, inclusive, and cost-effective payment method. With its simplicity, flexibility, and ability to integrate multiple UPI solutions through a single interface, UPI has become essential for businesses aiming to stay competitive in the digital age. It enables businesses to provide a seamless payment experience for customers and drive financial inclusion in an increasingly cashless economy.

      Disclaimer: This blog is here to make complex processes easier to understand. However, please be aware that information might become outdated or change over time, or updates may occur. As a result, there might be some differences in the information provided. We do our best to keep everything up-to-date, but we recommend verifying information on official websites for accuracy.

      FAQs

      Q. How does UPI impact business?

      A. UPI improves business transactions by making payments simple, convenient, and secure, while also reducing costs, speeding up settlements, and driving digital transformation.

      Q. What is the limit of UPI in business?

      A. The daily UPI transaction limit set by NPCI is Rs. 1 lakh. However, this limit increases to Rs. 5 lakh for transactions made to educational institutions and healthcare providers. Individual banks may vary in their daily UPI transfer limits, ranging typically from Rs. 25,000 to Rs. 1 lakh.

      Q. Is UPI free for merchants?

      A. Prepaid Payment Instrument (PPI) based-merchants have to pay an interchange fee of up to 1.1% on UPI transactions exceeding Rs. 2000. Fortunately, small merchants are exempt from paying this fee.

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