Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday launched a UPI (United Payments Interface) based app called BHIM, short for Bharat Interface for Money. The BHIM app is a straightforward UPI app, which would allow anyone to make simple digital payments directly from their bank account, and it is now available for download.
The UPI-based BHIM app allows anyone to pay or receive money through online banking, unlike a wallet where you have to first load the money before you can use it.
HIGHLIGHTS:
The BHIM app is now the number one top free app on Google Play
The app was launched on Friday, to simplify digital payments
“Be it a smartphone or feature phone of Rs 1,000-1,200, BHIM app can be used. There is no need to have Internet connectivity,” says PM Modi. “One only needs a thumb. There was a time when an illiterate was called ‘angutha chchap’. Now, time has changed. Your thumb is your bank now. It has become your identity now.”
Let’s take a closer look at everything you need to know about the BHIM app.
What is BHIM app?
With the BHIM app, anyone can send or request money through the app to make a digital payment. The app is linked to your bank account, so you don’t have to load money in it unlike a wallet, and a merchant does not have to worry about transferring the money back to their bank account.
How to download BHIMP app?
Download the BHIM app by the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) on Google Play to start using the free Android app.
How to download BHIM app for iPhone?
BHIM app is presently now available on Android and will come to iPhone ‘soon’.
How do I use BHIM app?
After you download the BHIM app, you’ll have to register your bank account through the app, and set a UPI PIN. Your mobile number is your payment address, and you can start transacting. Through the app, you can send or receive money to a phone number, check balance, or scan a QR code to make a payment without sharing a phone number.
Using the BHIM app, money can also be sent to non-UPI banks through IFSC, like you do with normal net banking.
Does the BHIM app work on feature phones?
Apart from the Android app, the interface behind the BHIM app can be accessed using USSD (Unstructured Supplementary Service Data) from feature phones – you will need to dial *99# to access it. With this method, an Internet connection will not be required to use the core functionality behind the BHIM app.
What banks support the BHIM app?
All the major banks are supported by the BHIM app – as long as the bank supports UPI, you will be able to access your money through the BHIM app.
BHIM app in 10 points:
BHIM can be used by anyone with a working phone and a bank account linked to that phone number. You can use it to send and receive money directly to bank accounts.
BHIM is free to download, and it’s number one on the Google Play Top Free list.
On Google Play – the Android store for apps – it shows that there are 50-100 downloads, but there is a degree of lag in this list. At the time of writing, there are almost 85,000 reviews of the app, and more than two-thirds are 5-star reviews, giving it full marks; roughly an eighth are one-star.
The app automatically uses your phone number to identify and link your bank – if you want to use a different account, you can change this manually as well. Only one account can be linked to the app at a time.
If the shopkeeper uses the BHIM app too, just open the app on your phone, choose “send money”, and type in the amount and the merchant’s phone number to make the payment. The money will be debited from your account, and credited to the merchant’s bank account.
The app also allows you to scan a QR code. The merchant can generate his QR code through the BHIM app. To pay him, you’d need to tap the Scan and Pay button in the app, and then scan the QR code.
Even without a smartphone or an Internet connection, anyone can use BHIM to make payments.You need to dial *99# from any kind of mobile phone, and this will show a menu – by typing in different numbers you can choose to send money, check your balance, or see transaction history.
To start using the app for the first time, you need to verify it once using an OTP. Some users have reported issues in getting this OTP, and others have reported freezes with the app. In our experience, the app was easy to set up and use.
We tried using the app multiple times. It worked fine on every try but one, when it would not launch or start at all. Rebooting the phone did not fix this problem either – we had to remove the app and install it again to get it to work. This kind of issue could be a huge problem when trying to make a payment on the go.
There is a Rs. 10,000 per transaction limit and Rs. 20,000 per day for BHIM. For larger transactions, you will still have to use a credit or debit card, or IFSC or another form of net banking.
The list of banks supported by the BHIM app is as follows:
Allahabad Bank
Andhra Bank
Axis Bank
Bank of Baroda
Bank of India
Bank of Maharashtra
Canara Bank
Catholic Syrian Bank
Central Bank of India
DCB Bank
Dena Bank
Federal Bank
HDFC Bank
ICICI Bank
IDBI Bank
IDFC Bank
Indian Bank
Indian Overseas Bank
IndusInd Bank
Karnataka Bank
Karur Vysya Bank
Kotak Mahindra Bank
Oriental Bank of Commerce
Punjab National Bank
RBL Bank
South Indian Bank
Standard Chartered Bank
State Bank of India
Syndicate Bank
Union Bank of India
United Bank of India
Vijaya Bank
What are the BHIM app transaction limits?
There is a maximum of Rs. 10,000 per transaction permitted, and Rs. 20,000 within 24 hours.
