by Sonal Deo
Published Sun, Jan 29th 2017, 12:56 | Technology
Out of the total 38 Unified Payment Interface (UPI) apps available on the Android platform, about 50% of them have an app vintage (days since they were last updated) in the range of 45-55 days.
In fact, six of these apps have a vintage of 130-150 days, according to data from Cashless Consumer, an initiative based around the domestic financial technology ecosystem and UPI banking apps.
Given the kind of active push UPI has seen in recent months, such instances of apps having not being updated for 45-55 days could act as an irritant for users. The data collated by Cashless Consumer is as of January 25, 2017.
UCO Bank and Andhra Bank are some of the banks whose UPI apps are over 150 days old in terms of the last update from the developers. To be sure, security or user experience of an app is not always based on the merit of its app vintage, but a lag of 50 days or more on an average raises questions on the maturity of the ecosystem given the continuous debate on security aspects for digital transactions in the country.
Access to UPI is only available to banks while non-banking payment platforms have to partner with banks to go live. The Upi App Bank platform is managed by the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI), which enables bank account holders to send and receive money instantly from customers of any other bank without account details.
Upi App Bank, which can be accessed only through mobile apps, can be accessed by an account holder through any bank's UPI app.
When contacted, NPCI's MD & CEO AP Hota told TOI in an emailed response, “A user has the freedom to download any UPI-enabled app and link multiple bank accounts. NPCI has provided UPI platform to banks and it is up to them on how much they want to leverage this technologically advanced payment system.“
Technology changes quickly and specially on the Android platform. The number of versions some of these apps have had since the launch of Upi App Bank shows that constant problemsolving is not happening. Srikanth L of Cashless Consumer said, “On the consumer front, this would put off a new user who may be trying UPI transaction for the first time.“
The government has been actively pushing digital payments since the demonetisation move was introduced in November. It later launched the BHIM app on UPI managed by NPCI. According to reports, BHIM generated huge interest, resulting in a high number of downloads. It had an app vintage of about 20 days as of January 25.
Hota added that BHIM has been updated twice since its launch on December 30 last year. He said that the new feature of 'Spam report' now enables a user to block unknown persons requesting money.
A senior executive of a payment firm said, “Sometimes banks have their in-house developers, while some opt for third-party vendors. Whichever the case, regular bug fixes and adequate security proof will help UPI grow further.“
Source: http://tinyurl.com/hu6oyho