The government's much-awaited mobile payment app is finally here. At Digi Dhan Mela event in Talkatora stadium in New Delhi, Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched an app called BHIM (Bharat Interface for Money) to promote digital transactions. The app is a rebranded version of UPI (Unified Payment Interface) and USSD (Unstructured Supplementary Service Data). BHIM has been developed by National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) and is about 2MB in size.
PM Modi said that BHIM will be the world's biggest wonder. The app takes on the likes of Paytm, Mobikwik, Freecharge and other mobile payment apps which have become hugely popular since the government announced banning of Rs 500 and Rs 1000 notes on November 8. While launching the app, PM made payment to Khaadi.
At the event, the PM also felicitated the winners of Lucky Grahak Yojana. The new app is expected to minimise the role of plastic cards and the point of sale (PoS) machines said to be the essential tools for a cashless society so far.
The app helps eliminate fee payments to service providers like card companies (Mastercard or Visa), which was widely seen as a big stumbling block for merchants switching to digital payments. According to some people, the app is expected to make mobile payments affordable for merchants in remote villages.
All that the BHIM app needs to work is an Android or iOS phone. The app is available for Android (version 8 and above) and iOS smartphones (version 5 and above). Government said that Bhim will soon be available on other platforms too.
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