Your next UPI payment may not need the internet at all

Soon you may be able to make digital payments without an internet connection, even if you are on a flight or in underground tunnels. According to a fresh report, a new Unified Payments Interface (UPI) feature is on the way, which will enable users to make payments to another device or a merchant’s point-of-sale (PoS) terminal without needing an internet connection.
Business Standard reported that users will be able to pay at offline merchant terminals via near-field communication (NFC), a short-range wireless technology that works faster and more securely than Bluetooth at close range. Notably, the transactions will reportedly be capped at Rs 2,000.
Per the report, customers will need to first load money online into an on-device digital wallet called UPI Lite. Then they will be able to use that balance at a place where there is no internet or at an offline terminal without entering a UPI PIN.
However, for these developments, the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI), the organisation that manages UPI, is likely to certify PoS device manufacturers in the country to enable offline UPI payments from this year.
Offline UPI payment is not something new, though the idea of it has existed in a more limited form for years. Services like *99# and UPI 123Pay already let users send money without an active internet connection, using either a USSD code or a simple phone call.
But the difference is here. Even these existing offline methods still need some form of network, either a GSM signal for the USSD code or a phone line for the voice call. The new NFC-based UPI feature may not need even that. As long as your device supports NFC, a payment could go through purely through short-range wireless communication, no mobile network required at all.
The *99# service works on any GSM handset, smartphone or otherwise, making it accessible even to users without a smartphone. It runs on USSD, a signalling channel that doesn’t need data connectivity, and supports 13 languages including Hindi and English across 83 banks. Payments through this method are capped at Rs. 5,000 per transaction. To use it, you dial *99#, select your bank, choose “Send Money,” enter the recipient’s UPI ID or mobile number, key in the amount, and confirm with your UPI PIN.