Google Pay UPI now lets you “TAP to Pay” instead of scanning pesky QR codes!

Google Pay has added the Tap To Pay feature for UPI payments on its platform. Here’s everything you need to know about it.

Google Pay brings Tap To Pay feature for UPI transactions on Android. (Amritanshu / HT Tech)

Google Pay makes for one of the easiest way to make UPI transactions at the moment. You can either scan a QR code or put in the phone number to make the payment fast. However, if you found the QR code scanning process uncomfortable, Google Pay now brings another way for you to make the payment. It is called Tap to Pay and it works for UPI transactions. The feature is available on all Android devices that come with support for NFC.

Google India says it has collaborated with Pine Labs for bringing this feature. Tap to Pay functionality will be available on all Pine Labs Android POS machines — the ones you usually see in retail store sand fuel stations with big screens with a smartphone-like interface. This feature was initially put to test with Reliance Retail and in now available across more merchants, some which include Future Retail and Starbucks.

Google Pay now lets you “tap” to pay via UPI

Tap to Pay is not new to Google Pay, as this was previously available for cards. For UPI, consumers only had the option of QR code scans or phone numbers.

To complete a payment, all a user needs to do is tap their phone on the POS terminal and authenticate the payment from their phone, using their UPI PIN. Google says that it makes the process virtually instantaneous, as compared to scanning a QR code, or entering the UPI-linked mobile number.

While this sounds interesting, there are a few caveats for now. One, you will need a smartphone that comes with NFC support. Most affordable smartphones skip on this feature and you are most likely to find it on high-end Android smartphones, as well as iPhones. Secondly, the Tap to Pay for UPI is only available on Android phones at the moment. Hence, iPhone users won't be able to make use of this feature yet.

“Fintech growth in India is writing the playbook for the world, first with enabling real time payments with UPI, and further, by innovating with flows that make the transaction time virtually zero. Tap to Pay for UPI has profound implications for high traffic retail outlets, with queue management hassles poised to be greatly reduced, and taking digital payments at POS well beyond cards. We are very excited to bring this first ever innovation to India, in collaboration with Pine Labs,” says Sajith Sivanandan, Business Head - Google Pay and Next Billion User initiatives, Google APAC.