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UPI has made sending money quick and straightforward. UPI payments end with a PIN to approve the transfer. ATMs ask for a PIN too before dispensing cash.

You wake up to an urgent payment request. Your rent is due, a taxi is waiting, or a friend needs money immediately, and suddenly you realise your debit card is nowhere to be found. This is no longer unusual in India’s fast-moving digital economy.

UPI operates mostly behind the scenes. Payments are completed in seconds, confirmations appear almost immediately, and most people do not give it much thought. What is easy to miss is the organised system behind those transactions.

Unified Payments Interface (UPI) has completely transformed how India handles and pays money...

The way we make payments has changed dramatically over the past few years. Initially, we used cash, and this was not an easy experience for anyone who hated doing mental math.

Then came the switch to plastic money, i.e, your debit and credit cards. A significant upgrade, but still involved the faff of pulling the right card out of a slot, which barely had space for your fingers to fit into

Most of us tap, scan, or click to pay without thinking much about what happens next. Payments go through in seconds, yet there is an entire system working in the background to make it smooth and secure. At the centre of this process is the payment gateway.

We share expenses all the time, from brunches and weekend trips to cab rides, OTT subscriptions, and even quick grocery runs. But the minute the bill arrives, confusion begins. Who owes what? Who paid last time? Who still hasn’t settled? 

We trust UPI for everything today, from QR scans to monthly bill payments. So, when you spot a strange transaction or send money to the wrong person, your heart skips a beat.

Anushree needed to make an urgent payment to a vendor. The vendor said, “You can send it via IMPS or UPI, whichever suits you.” Anushree paused. Until that moment, she thought IMPS and UPI were the same thing. Clearly not. Both help you transfer money instantly, but in very different ways.