Simplifying digital payments: Creating a UPI pin adds the layer of protection

The Indian government’s unified payments interface (UPI) was launched back in 2016, and it took the technology just about three years to cross a billion transactions. The technology is meant to simplify digital payments and make them more amenable to mobile phone users, and it has just done, for over five years now.

On paper, UPI is meant to do the same thing that payments systems like National Electronic Funds Transfer (NEFT) or Immediate Payments Service (IMPS) do — send payments from one account to another, within the same bank or across banks. But UPI is much simpler, and doesn’t necessarily require you to access the bank’s app or online banking systems. It uses people’s UPI IDs and UPI PINs to complete electronic payments in real time. You can use the PayTM UPI system to avoid using your bank’s platform.

What is UPI ID?

The UPI ID is your first entry into the UPI ecosystem. This is the ID you will share with others to receive payments, and the ID that you will use in order to send payments to others as well.

The UPI ID is linked to your bank account, and ensures that money is deducted or deposited to the right account. A separate UPI ID will have to be created for each bank account that you have. To create one, though, you will need to access a UPI gateway like PayTM. These gateways allow you to create the UPI ID and set up the UPI PIN.

What is UPI PIN?

UPI payments from apps like Paytm are real-time, and they can be done from virtually any smartphone today, but it still requires an authentication medium. Enter, the UPI PIN.

After you set up your UPI ID, you will have to set up this four-digit PIN, which is used to authenticate all transactions. Whenever you send a payment to someone, you will need to enter this pin on your mobile phone in order to validate the transaction.

Your UPI PIN, like an ATM or credit card PIN, should be kept secret. Since UPI payments can be done from anywhere, and any phone, divulging the PIN to unknown parties can leave you open to frauds. The PIN is also required when you switch UPI apps, or change phones and have to set up your UPI app of choice for a second time.

How to set up the UPI PIN?

Once you download an UPI payment application, like PayTM, on your smartphone, you will need to follow the following steps in order to set up the UPI PIN.

• Tap the ‘Profile’ option on the top left corner of the PayTM app.
  
• Find the Payment Settings option in the menu that opens from tapping on this icon.
  
• Inside Payment Settings, you will find the UPI & Linked Bank Accounts option, which shows the list of accounts you have linked to the app.
  
• The app will show you the option to set up a UPI PIN for whichever bank account you haven’t created one for yet.
  
• Click on Set Pin and enter the last six digits of your debit card number, along with the expiry date of the card.
  
• The bank will then send you an OTP on your registered mobile number, which needs to be entered on the app.
  
• You will then get the option to set up the UPI PIN of your choice, and you can click the submit button once you’re sure of the pin.
  

How to change the UPI PIN?

Once you have set up the UPI PIN, you can use the same steps to change the pin when required. The UPI system doesn’t require a regular PIN change, but it is a good idea to change the PIN intermittently, in order to keep yourself more secure. Once you have set up your UPI PIN, the PayTM mobile application will show the option to ‘Change PIN’ where it earlier showed the ‘Set PIN’ option.

• To change the UPI PIN, you need to open the PayTM app and tap on the profile option on the top left.
  
• From here, tap on the Payment Settings option
  
• Navigate to linked bank accounts.
  
• The option to change the UPI pin should show up under the bank accounts you have linked to the app.
  
• If you haven’t created an UPI ID, you will get the option to set a pin.

How to protect your UPI PIN?

As mentioned before, the UPI PIN should be protected and shouldn’t be shared with anyone. Additionally, the UPI PIN should also not be a PIN you use for another purpose — like the MPIN, the credit card or ATM PIN or even your phone’s lock screen passcode. The MPIN is the passcode you use to access a bank’s mobile application.


Disclaimer: This article is generated and published by the Insider Studios team. You can get in touch with them on insiderstudios@businessinsider.in