Google, Visa and Mastercard are rolling out new features and products to dive deeper into one of the world's .
is adding several new features in partnership with India's real-time payment network, the United Payments Interface, that are expected to roll out later this year and are designed to increase use of the country's real-time payment network, the technology company said on the last day of Global Fintech Fest 2024.
Users will be able to add family members and close friends as "delegates," who will be able to make payments without having to add their own bank account information. Users can approve payments on a transactional basis or set a monthly limit.
Google Pay will also add integrations for UPI vouchers, which allow consumers that aren't on the UPI network to pay with a prepaid voucher connected to their mobile number, bill payments using ClickPay QR code scanning and prepaid utility payments, among others. Google is one of the largest , which is the world's largest real-time settlement network.
Visa also announced a suite of new products on the last day of Global Fintech Fest aimed at driving digital payment adoption in India.
The payment-processing company said it is working with HDFC Bank to create a compact payment device for merchants that integrates point-of-sale, QR code scanning, and soundbox, which provides audio alerts when a digital payment is received and confirms the amount of the payment. Visa is also working with payments India-based Paytm and Asia-based Pine Labs on two separate soundbox devices that integrate QR codes.
Other initiatives include: Neo for Merchants by Axis Bank and Visa, a mobile payments application for payment acceptance, transaction reporting and service requests; PayU Push Provisioning, which allows for the sharing of card tokens; and new credit and debit card offerings with HSBC and IDFC First Bank, respectively.
Meanwhile, for its biometric-enabled payments passkey with Axis Bank, online merchants and payment aggregators such as Juspay, Razorpay and PayU. The passkey initiative is in response to rising one-time password fraud, which rose 300% in the last two years, according to the Reserve Bank of India's 2023-2024 annual report.
Mastercard plans to roll out the program to additional financial institutions in the coming months, according to a company release. -- Joey Pizzolato