Government enables UPI registration without debit card to ensure higher penetration

Providing an impetus to make Unified Payments Interface (UPI) the most popular digital payments option and to increase its penetration across the country Government has now decided to omit the need for a debit card to create UPI payment ID. Users can now register to UPI using the OTP received on their registered mobile number linked with the AADHAAR Card from March 15, 2022, onwards.

Earlier, only those who had a debit card could create their UPI ID. The features of UPI ID will now be accessible to all account holders with an AADHAAR Card, even if they don't have a debit card.

Users can get the benefit of UPI by linking their Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) with the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) through their banks. 

There are crores of bank account holders who have not issued a debit card and were neglected from the benefits of UPI. This step is going remove the barrier of a debit card for such account holders.

To register yourself with UPI without a debit card, it's mandatory to use the same mobile number used, which is registered with your bank account as well as your AADHAAR Card.

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Tuesday announced the launch of a unique feature for payments with a facility where those with feature phones could also use the UPI platform, pointing to further adoption of digital transactions in the country's regions, where the majority of the citizens still don't own smartphones.

This feature is called UPI123Pay, which will offer payments through feature phone without internet.

Apart from debit cards, the deadline for boarding on UPI using Aadhaar OTP was set by NPCI till December 15, 2021, but it has now been extended till March 15 due to banks' unpreparedness.