Paytm has partnered with the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) and Vodafone Idea to enable UPI recharges for feature phone users. The service is implemented through NPCI’s payment service *99# that works on Unstructured Supplementary Service Data (USSD).
“Paytm is now empowering feature phone users to recharge for their Vodafone Idea numbers with just a valid UPI ID. Along with the telecom major and National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) to extend this service throughout the country,” said Paytm in a statement.
With this feature, Paytm points out that feature phone users will no longer have to visit physical stores to get recharges done. That said, let’s take a look at how you can get started with it.
To begin with, you will need a functional UPI ID to recharge Vodafone Idea numbers with this method. In order to register a new UPI ID, all you have to do is dial the USSD code – *99#. In this step, choose the bank account linked to your mobile number and set the UPI PIN. You will now get your UPI ID.
Once you have a valid UPI ID, dial *99*1*3# to access the recharge portal. It will automatically detect your bank account. Enter your UPI ID, recharge amount, and UPI PIN to perform the transaction.
Announcing the initiative, Paytm Senior VP Abhay Sharma said, “There are over 550 million feature phone users in the country. A majority of them are migrants and daily wage earners. Due to the ongoing lockdown, many people who rely mainly on mobile phone stores, recharge kiosks are finding it difficult to top-up their basic feature phones which rarely have internet data facility”.
