UPI Vs UPI Lite – A Comparison To Know Their Features.

Published On October 7, 2022

Do you prefer counting and paying cash for your purchases, well you’re not alone. India is one of the countries where people still use cash for many of their daily requirements. We are however slowly but steadily moving towards a cashless economy with the introduction of UPI and now UPI Lite. You’ll get an explanation of these terms as well as a comparison of UPI vs UPI Lite as you read ahead.

So – what is UPI?

The UPI full form is the Unified Payments Interface. U.P.I is a payment interface to make cashless payments the NPCI (National Payments Corporation of India) developed. U.P.I uses the Immediate Payments Service (IMPS) interface to provide a 24/7 service to its subscribers. This way you can transfer money from your bank account to another person’s bank account. Using UPI allows you to make payments using just your mobile phone. You’ll never be stuck without cash again when you have your phone and have U.P.I enabled on your phone. To name a few apps there are Paytm, GPay, BHIM UPI, PhonePe, Amazon Pay and so on.

How does UPI work?

You must create a U.P.I id to use UPI apps. It’s amazingly simple to create an ID on any of the U.P.I apps. You need a bank that allows U.P.I transactions to use this facility, and currently, there are over a hundred registered banks that allow the use of U.P.I. (Unified Payments Interface) You must create a 4-to-6-digit password to pay the funds each time you use the UPI app.

Every transaction goes through your bank account, all payments are debited, and every receipt is credited into the linked bank account. To check transaction history – you can use the transaction history button on your chosen UPI App to get a list of all payments and receipts.

What is UPI Lite?

UPI Lite App lets people make exceedingly small payments with the payments going directly from their UPI wallet (Unified Payments Interface Wallet) and not their bank account. U.P.I Lite has a limit of Rupees 200 per transaction and does not make the payment from your bank account. Rather, to use UPI Lite you must add funds to your U.P.I wallet. There is a maximum limit of funds you can keep in the wallet, which is currently Rs. 2000. U.P.I Lite does not require the use of the passcode for making the payments.

U.P.I Lite is currently available on the BHIM UPI app. The BHIM U.P.I App allows customers of 8 banks such as the Canara Bank, HDFC Bank, Indian Bank, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Punjab National Bank, State Bank of India, Union Bank of India, and Utkarsh Small Finance Bank use the UPI Lite feature to transact. Currently U.P.I Lite allows payments even without an active internet connection. All credits however go into your bank account. You cannot view the transaction history on your app or bank account. However, the subscribers get a daily SMS telling them the details of the transactions done on that day. U.P.I and U.P.I Lite are easy to compare as they have different limits and hence different purposes.

Now that you know what U.P.I and U.P.I Lite are, let’s understand what the differences between them.

Let’s compare UPI vs UPI Lite:

	UPI	UPI Lite
Explanation	U.P.I is a payment interface that allows you to make payments anytime of the day through a linked bank account.	U.P.I Lite is a wallet on the device – that you can load with funds and use to make payments from anytime.
Maximum Payment Transaction Value	The maximum transaction value allowed in U.P.I transactions is 2 lakh Rupees	The maximum transaction value allowed in U.P.I Lite is 200 Rupees
Receipts in app	The U.P.I app allows receipt of funds too. The funds go directly into the bank account.	Currently, the app doesn’t allow receipts – any receipts go directly into the bank account.
Maximum Amount in Wallet	There is no such value amount set	The maximum amount held in the wallet is Rupees 2000.
Password required	In the U.P.I interface – there is a 4-to-6-digit password required to authorize the transaction.	U.P.I Lite does not need a password
Transaction history	Checking the U.P.I payment history anytime on the app is possible.	Checking U.P.I Lite credits to the wallet is possible. But the daily history is available only on the SMS sent to the user for every transaction done during the day.
Internet connection required	Yes, you need an active internet connection.	If there are funds in the wallet offline payments are possible. You don’t need an active internet connection.
Who can use the App	Anyone who downloads any U.P.I app and has a bank account with a verified telephone number can use the U.P.I Apps to make and receive money. There are 100 registered banks that allow the use of U.P.I apps.	As of now, only the BHIM U.P.I app allows the use of U.P.I Lite with 8 affiliated banks allowing the use of U.P.I Lite.

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How to use UPI vs UPI Lite?

All you need is a basic smartphone and your mobile number registered with your bank account to use either U.P.I or U.P.I Lite. Your mobile number is used for verification purposes by the U.P.I and U.P.I Lite apps. Then you download any one or more of the U.P.I apps available. When making low-value transactions one may use the U.P.I Lite app to minimize the risk of fraud. The U.P.I app allows you to make higher-value transactions with a password. That said, the UPI Lite was launched recently whereas using the U.P.I (Unified Payments Interface) has become a norm or a part of a daily routine for many people.

Banking at your fingertips – That’s how U.P.I has benefited people:

U.P.I (Unified Payments Interface) has changed the way people use their money. Gone is the need to carry cash around. You can simply have your mobile phone and never be caught in a situation without money on hand ever again. The IMPS service used by U.P.I enables real-time payment for all needs and requirements. What’s more, U.P.I transactions are free.

FAQs

What is UPI id?

Your U.P.I Id is typically yourname@bank name that identifies you on the U.P.I App.

How to change the UPI pin?

If you do not remember your old U.P.I pin, then you will need your debit card details to set up your new U.P.I Pin. In the U.P.I app, you go to the bank account whose PIN you want to change. Enter either the old pin or forgot Pin and enter debit card details. Voila, you can now set up a new U.P.I PIN.