The National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI), which has developed key digital payments railroads such as the Unified Payments Interface, Fastag and Aadhaar Enabled Payment System (AePS), is now testing a voice-based payments service for feature phone users in low connectivity zones, sources aware of the matter told ET.
The service is likely to be rolled out on top of the interoperable UPI protocol. The key differentiator would be that the feature phone users won’t need a third-party app or stable internet connection to complete their transactions.
The ‘Interactive Voice Response’ (IVR) payments project is currently in beta-testing mode with the Reserve Bank of India closely monitoring the pilot as per provisions laid under the central bank’s Regulatory Sandbox (RS), the sources said. A larger rollout would be subject to approvals from RBI after the culmination of the first phase of testing.