Hello, UPI: A deep dive into voice-based payments, everything you need to know

In a significant development, voice-enabled UPI payments are set to revolutionize digital transactions in India. RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das recently announced the upcoming launch of conversational UPI at the Global Fintech Festival in Mumbai.

Hello! UPI: The voice command-based UPI payments feature: This innovative feature is poised to make fund transfers easier for Indians who are fluent in their native languages. It promises to benefit senior citizens and those less familiar with digital interfaces.

Through this new feature, users will be able to make voice-enabled UPI payments in Hindi and English, with support for regional languages in the pipeline. To initiate a transaction, users simply need to provide a voice command and input their UPI PIN to confirm the payment.

The National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) has collaborated with the Bhashini program, AI4Bharat at IIT Madras, to develop payment language models in Hindi and English.

In its white paper titled 'Conversational Payments on UPI: Unlocking New Frontiers for Next-Generation Payments,' NPCI highlights the rapid growth of voice search queries, recording a staggering 270% annual increase.

Conversational UPI: Two modes- This groundbreaking feature will eliminate the need for manual inputs. Users can interact with an AI-powered solution to complete transactions, available in two modes:

1. On-call: Users can dial a specified number, where they will be guided through an interactive voice response (IVR) system to finalize the payment.

2. In-app: This mode enables users to use voice commands within any UPI app to conduct transactions. The service integrates seamlessly with existing UPI apps, recognizing verbal requests and responding accordingly.

How Conversational UPI Works The technology behind Conversational UPI involves several steps:

1. Analog to digital conversion: Human speech is converted into a digital format.

2. Automatic speech recognition: Voice inputs are transformed into text.

3. Machine translation NLP: Natural Language Processing captures user intent and translates voice input to English.

4. Text-to-speech: Machine verifies user intent.

5. Voice output: Upon understanding user intent, the system provides a voice response.

This innovation promises a more intuitive and user-friendly experience for digital transactions. As users engage with the system, AI continually learns and improves its ability to fulfill user requests.

BillPay Connect – Conversational Bill Payments: As part of this advancement, Bharat BillPay introduces a nationalized number for bill payments across India. Customers can initiate bill payments by sending a simple message on a messaging app. Additionally, customers without smartphones or immediate mobile data access can pay bills by giving a missed call. This approach enhances accessibility and convenience for bill payments.

Moreover, the BillPay Connect feature offers Voice-Assisted Bill Payments. Customers can fetch and pay bills using voice commands on smart home devices, receiving instant voice confirmations. This secure and efficient method extends to bill payments made at physical collection centers through payment soundbox devices.

Conversational UPI and BillPay Connect represent significant steps toward enhancing security and accessibility in digital transactions, benefiting both customers and collection centers.

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