UPI or Unified Payments Interface is India’s revolutionary instant real-time payment system developed by the National Payments Corporation of India. After revolutionizing digital payment in India, now UPI is targeting global markets. Several countries have shown interest in UPI. In September 2021, UPI accounted for the transactions of Rs. 6.54 lakh crore. Most people prefer UPI over debit cards or Internet banking. UPI lets you send and receive payments the way we send or receive messages on a mobile phone. You just need to know the UPI address to send the payment. Payment is made instantly in real time. NPCI launched the BHIM app for UPI pavements but several other companies have also launched their UPI apps to make payments easier. In this article, I will be listing the best 5 UPI apps in India.
While choosing a UPI app, you need to consider several factors. The UPI app should be easy to use and should provide security measures to protect your personal and financial information. If there’s an option for bill payments, recharges, and more, it will be better. Some of the UPI apps also offer cashback and rewards.
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Best UPI Apps
1. PhonePe
PhonePe is the best UPI app in India. The reason for listing PhonePe at the top is that payments done through PhonePe never fail. I am saying this from my personal experience. I started doing UPI payments through BHIM UPI, then switched to Google Pay (Formerly Tez), and then switched to PhonePe. PhonePe app lets you send and receive payments through UPI. You just need to link your bank account and it instantly activates your UPI. You can also manage multiple bank accounts. The app also lets pay utility bills and recharge different services. You can also purchase insurance and do different kinds of investments like mutual funds, gold, and Fixed deposits. The app also supports several Indian languages, making it accessible to a wider audience.
2. CRED
CRED was initially launched as a CREDIT CARD payments app and later introduced instant personal loans. The app also has a built-in UPI payment. So, users can make UPI payments to merchants and friends. The experience is the same as in other apps. Just scan the QR code or select the contact, enter the amount, and pay. Another reason to prefer CRED is the cashback. For each UPI payment made using the CRED app, you will earn cashback in the form of INR or CRED coins. Although the cashback will be just Rs. 1 or Rs. 2 in most cases, you can earn around Rs. 50 to Rs. 70 a month as cashback on CRED if you regularly use it. CRED also has the option to pay utility bills and credit card bills. So, you can pay different bills using CRED UPI to earn cash back and other rewards. Another benefit of using CRED is the CRED garbage and Credit score tracking.
3. Google Pay
Google Pay was initially launched as a Google Tez app. Later it was renamed as Google Pay. The app initially got a good customer base by offering scratch cards and cashback. Like other UPI apps, this app also offered utility bill payments along with person-to-person payments directly from a bank account to bank account using UPI. The only issue with Google Pay is payment failure. Several users faced the same issue and they moved to other UPI apps. Along with payments, the app also lets you have a conversation with the contact. You can also make groups for conversion and shared payments.
4. Paytm
Paytm was initially launched as an online recharge portal and later upgraded as an online wallet. After the UPI revolution, the app also integrated UPI. So, you can either use a Paytm wallet or pay using UPI. Initially, the app made it hard to find and use UPI because it wanted Paytm users to keep using Paytm wallet. When the company found that users had started moving to other apps just because they wanted to use UPI, Paytm made UPI payments easier and straightforward. Just like PhonePe, Paytm also lets you send and receive money using UPI. It also offers recharge, FastTag payment, Bill Payments, and more. You can also purchase digital gold, book hotels, book train tickets, and pay for movie tickets.
5. Amazon Pay
Amazon also lets users pay different utility bills and book flights. The company already had the Amazon Pay wallet where users could load money using an Amazon Gift card and cashback. Now the company has also integrated UPI into it. So, Amazon customers can directly pay using UPI. Amazon Pay can also be used while making an order on Amazon or for paying utility bills. It has integration with the Amazon ecosystem, so convenient for regular Amazon shoppers. Users often receive cashback on UPI payments made through Amazon Pay. Users can also pay other users using their UPI address. There is no separate Amazon pay app. It has been integrated seamlessly into the Amazon shopping app. You can use it
6. MobiKwik
MobiKwik is also a good UPI app offering a wide range of features beyond just money transfers. The app lets you transfer money to bank accounts, friends, and family using UPI. It also has integration of utility payments such as electricity, gas, water, and other bills directly from the app. You can also recharge your prepaid mobile number and DTH subscription. The app also has options to pay for various insurance policies and investment options. You can also earn discounts, cashback, and rewards on various transactions.
7. BHIM
BHIM UPI is the official app of the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI). This app lets you create UPI and then use it for making transactions. This was the initial UPI app. Later, other companies jumped into the race and launched other UPI apps. Initially, the app only offered payments to contacts. Now BHIM app also lets you pay different utility bills, insurance payments, loan payments,s and more.
