An important aspect of running a business is executing customer payments efficiently. UPI integration is required for accepting payments directly from customers through UPI apps such as GooglePay, BHIM UPI, PhonePe etc. This article is about how to integrate UPI payment gateway into your business website or application.
What is UPI?
UPI stands for Unified Payment Interface and was developed by the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI). It is essentially a payment system designed to facilitate real-time and instant inter-bank peer-to-peer (P2P) and person-to-merchant (P2M) transactions.
Since it was launched, UPI has risen to popularity, especially among users, to become one of the most preferred payment modes available. Data shows that in 2021 itself, more than 3,800 crore payments via UPI, worth more than ₹73 lakh crore, were conducted. More UPI-based payment services will be launched in the upcoming years, such as UPI wallets for offline transactions.
Seeing how UPI has gained momentum, it is crucial to outfit your business website/app with the payment solution.
Why Do You Need UPI Payment Gateway Integration?
UPI has clearly seen spectacular adoption as a P2P payment method. It is designed as a convenient way to pay for online purchases and B2B payments.
| Parameters | UPI | NB | Cards | |
| For Customers | Payment information needed for checkout | UPI ID-similar to email and 4-digit MPIN | Bank Login id and password, OTP or PIN | 16-19 digit card number, CVV, Card expiry details, Cardholder name, OTP or ATM PIN |
| Mobile Friendly Design | High – Mobile first design | Low | Low | |
| For Business | Settlement to a business account | 1 Day | 1-2 Days | 1 Day |
| 70-95%* | 70-90% | 70-90% | ||
| UPI vs Net banking vs Cards | ||||
As compared to other payment modes, UPI checkout flows are reducing the friction for customers and merchants which means a higher transaction success rate and money hitting the bank accounts faster.
How to integrate UPI payment gateway in your business’ website or app?
You can use the following methods to integrate UPI into your business website or app:
- Web collect flow : If you are wondering how to initiate UPI payment gateway integration in Android, iOS, web, and mobile web, then this is the right choice. Web collect flow is a seamless flow which is available as payment mode to customer while doing the transaction online. Here customer is prompted to enter his/her VPA/UPI ID on payment page while check-out and authorizes the collect request received on his PSP app to complete the transaction. This flow works on all devices and platforms.
- Intent flow UPI integration: This form of integration offers a seamless experience to customer. It enables automatic invoking of the UPI mobile app pre-installed on customer device. Customer is prompted to choose the preferred UPI payment app and authorize the transaction. This flow is suitable for merchants with presence on mobile apps.
QR Code: Suitable for web-based and offline transactions, a Quick Response (QR) Code is a unique graphic code that allows users to make easy payments. Dynamic Universal QR Codes are created for each order, and customers can open a UPI app and scan the code to pay. On the other hand, Static QR Codes allow the payee merchant to convert their UPI ID into a QR Code, allowing easy scanning.
Now that you know more about how to integrate UPI payment gateway into your business website, you can choose an integration method that makes accepting payments a smooth process.