Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

UPI Payments: 10B transactions a month done, next stop 100B

bqprime.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

191–200 of 399 posts

Re: UPI Payments: 10B transactions a month done, next stop 100B

#191

Post by deskamess »

itsbits wrote: post #128
davelondon wrote: post #125

I was in India earlier this year, and found there was no way (and I spent hours trying) for a foreigner to get access to the UPI system. This meant: 1) There were some cashless fast food outlets that I couldn't eat at 2) There was no way for me to book an intercity bus ticket I eventually managed to get a bus ticket by sweet-talking someone in a shop to use their personal UPI account in exchange for cash. I fear ther…

Now Indian airports have outlets to create UPIs for foreigners visiting the country

Really? Which airports? I was there 2 months ago.

Re: UPI Payments: 10B transactions a month done, next stop 100B

#192

Post by leesalminen »

berkes wrote: post #171
kmlx wrote: post #159

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I was in India earlier this year, and found there was no way (and I spent hours trying) for a foreigner to get access to the UPI system. never been to India. do they not support credit cards like the rest of the planet? visa/mastercard/amex? only UPI?

"the rest of the planet" doesnt accept visa/Mastercard just anywhere and certainly not amex. In e.g. The Netherlands, mostly cashless society now, creditcards are hardly ever used by locals and so many POS won't have the infra to accept CC payments. The world is not the US and the US isn't the world.

The vast majority of businesses in Costa Rica are required by law to accept cards, Amex included.

Re: UPI Payments: 10B transactions a month done, next stop 100B

#193

Post by Brajeshwar »

I’ve been using UPI since its very early days when it used to fail quite often. UPI is still one of the best things to happen in the financial scene in India. However, these days, personally, I’m trying to reduce it to either known people, or established institutions. I wish there is another layer of tokenization when one pays via UPI, like how Apple Pay does. I wish that the transaction is obfuscated and the phone numbers and/or UPI ID are hidden.

You pay for a nice hot cup of ₹10 Chai on the streets but then you got a phone call later on - naively to upsell something, or the next step up, trying to scam you. Unlike me, my wife continues to pick up every incoming phone calls. We have had enough calls from people whom she paid via UPI trying to sell or this/that and what not.

There is a scam going on in India. Random females, who are either naked or scantily clothed, will call up on WhatsApp Video. If you pick up the call, say while in the bathroom and not fully clothed, they will take screenshots and threaten you that they will make that picture “viral” to extort money. I won't be surprised if there is an under-belly of phone numbers and other data being sold that were collected via UPI payment transactions.

Cash is still OK at the tea-stalls, the random shop, etc. Well, when I just wanted to have a simple Bombay’s cutting-chai but the chai-guy wants my phone number, and everything else -- I'm not comfortable with that.

Re: UPI Payments: 10B transactions a month done, next stop 100B

#194

Post by avianlyric »

kmlx wrote: post #177
berkes wrote: post #171

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"the rest of the planet" doesnt accept visa/Mastercard just anywhere and certainly not amex. In e.g. The Netherlands, mostly cashless society now, creditcards are hardly ever used by locals and so many POS won't have the infra to accept CC payments. The world is not the US and the US isn't the world.

> the rest of the planet" doesnt accept visa/Mastercard just anywhere most of the developed world does. even Eastern Europe have transformed themselves into a NFC bonanza. > The Netherlands the netherlands is the wrong example. it has always been an outlier when it comes to card payments. case in point: you can't even make a Visa/Mastercard payment in an AH supermarket, you need a Maestro card. > The world is not the…

Visa/Mastercard aren’t as ubiquitous as people imagine, despite Visa/Mastercard trying to acquire their way to global market dominance.

The are many developed and developing countries that operate their own card networks, peer-to-peer payment technologies, and generally cheaper faster alternatives to Mastercard/Visa, with many merchants preferring them to their U.S. counterparts.

Visa/Mastercard may have dominance in the English speaking west, and many tourists location for the English speaking west, but assuming Visa/Mastercard is some gold standard the world should aspire to is very naïve. In reality alternatives like UPI and other peer-to-peer systems are more likely to be the payment systems of the future. Continued Mastercard/Visa dominance in its current form only really makes sense in countries with outdated and inadequate banking infrastructure, like the U.S.

Re: UPI Payments: 10B transactions a month done, next stop 100B

#195

Post by SandraBucky »

heavenlyblue wrote: post #187
db1234 wrote: post #5

The most incredible thing about UPI is how it was embraced by even the poorest in the remote corners of India. One of the former finance ministers of India talked in a dismissive tone in the parliament about rural India adopting digital payments when the current government announced "Digital India" plan. Some one made a meme video out of it mocking him. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aCnv8gwN0ug Another video showin…

If that road side vendor doesn't have access to a phone, how does she know the payment was made?

they usually have a sound box, which will announce if a payment is made to their UPI id.

Related - https://restofworld.org/2023/india-sound-boxes-paytm-phonepe...

Re: UPI Payments: 10B transactions a month done, next stop 100B

#196

Post by avianlyric »

Mandatum wrote: post #164
sofixa wrote: post #163

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's the same as the kiosks to get a local SIM card which also often require ID. Also optional. > drivers license A driver's license is rarely accepted as a valid ID document outside of the US which rarely has anything better.

https://internationaldrivingpermit.org/how-to-apply/

Have you ever seen and IDP? They’re a complete joke as an identity document, a child with a potato could forge one.

Re: UPI Payments: 10B transactions a month done, next stop 100B

#197

Post by DaiPlusPlus »

Sai_ wrote: post #175
sateesh wrote: post #34

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not op, prior to UPI all these transactions were done using cash, credit card penentration in India was quite low.

Minor correction - prior to UPI, transaction either happened via cash OR didn’t happen at all. I think the hidden value of UPI is that it makes doing business easier which is of huge value. People sitting on money has never helped any economy…especially at the level that UPI operates - ie enabling petty spending greases the wheels of the economy and lifts people out of poverty. For example, say I want to buy coconut…

> ie enabling petty spending greases the wheels of the economy and lifts people out of poverty.

The lack of "petty spending" is not the reason India has a poverty problem.

Re: UPI Payments: 10B transactions a month done, next stop 100B

#198

Post by DecoPerson »

heavenlyblue wrote: post #187
db1234 wrote: post #5

The most incredible thing about UPI is how it was embraced by even the poorest in the remote corners of India. One of the former finance ministers of India talked in a dismissive tone in the parliament about rural India adopting digital payments when the current government announced "Digital India" plan. Some one made a meme video out of it mocking him. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aCnv8gwN0ug Another video showin…

If that road side vendor doesn't have access to a phone, how does she know the payment was made?

The banks provide 4G-enabled speakers either for free or very cheap.

These speakers automatically read out any credit into the account.

Even a vendor who can’t read can use UPI to reliably receive payments.

Re: UPI Payments: 10B transactions a month done, next stop 100B

#199

Post by blackoil »

kmlx wrote: post #141
programmer_dude wrote: post #109

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This exists in India too. But people don't use it. Why take on debt if you don't need to? UPI is directly connected to your bank account. It does not go through VISA, Mastercard or whatever.

> Why take on debt if you don't need to? what debt? > UPI is directly connected to your bank account. oh, then it's a hard pass from me. i do not connect anything to my bank account and keep cards in separate banks for security.

> what debt?

You are taking debt whenever you use credit card. If you miss/forget payment, some tech fault or sometimes just because you can be charged hefty interest or charges.

You can keep a separate account for your daily transactions.

Re: UPI Payments: 10B transactions a month done, next stop 100B

#200

Post by Semaphor »

kmlx wrote: post #177
berkes wrote: post #171

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"the rest of the planet" doesnt accept visa/Mastercard just anywhere and certainly not amex. In e.g. The Netherlands, mostly cashless society now, creditcards are hardly ever used by locals and so many POS won't have the infra to accept CC payments. The world is not the US and the US isn't the world.

> the rest of the planet" doesnt accept visa/Mastercard just anywhere most of the developed world does. even Eastern Europe have transformed themselves into a NFC bonanza. > The Netherlands the netherlands is the wrong example. it has always been an outlier when it comes to card payments. case in point: you can't even make a Visa/Mastercard payment in an AH supermarket, you need a Maestro card. > The world is not the…

Germany is another outlier. Mainly big chains will accept amex, and small places might not accept credit cards in general, though that has been getting better thanks to SumUp.
Post reply on HN