UPI Transactions Jump In India; Wirecard And SES-imagotag Expand Payment Features

Welcome to The Axis, your late look at payments news from around the world. Coverage includes Reserve Bank of India (RBI) data that indicates a spike in Unified Payments Interface (UPI) transactions. In addition, Germany’s Wirecard and France’s SES-imagotag are expanding the existing relationship with its joint payment product, and Axis Bank has unveiled a new contactless solution in India.

Germany’s Wirecard and France’s SES-imagotag are expanding their existing relationship by adding capabilities for couponing, loyalty and data analytics to their joint payment product, the companies said in an announcement. Customers will be able to obtain loyalty points or personalized discount vouchers through the new loyalty feature, and they can be issued coupons when they walk into a store, interact with products or roam past a shelf.

In an announcement, Wirecard Vice President of POS Retail Solutions Alexander Hahn said, “Through our expanded cooperation with SES-imagotag, we are now jointly revolutionizing the digital payment experience and the customer journey in the retail sector, where stationary POS systems are no longer necessary.”

In India, data from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) indicates that Unified Payments Interface (UPI) transactions have spiked by 165 percent from the start of the year to September, according to reports: That is, transactions have risen from 151 million to 405 million. The service, which puts several bank accounts from participating institutions into one app, is used to make payments for bills, offline purchases and taxi fares, among other purposes. The news comes as Paytm reported 137 million transactions through UPI, or 20 percent of its transactions.

And India’s Axis Bank has unveiled a mobile app to let customers make payments on contactless terminals using NFC-enabled Android phones called Axis Tap & Pay, Computerworld reported. Customers will be able to use the feature with Axis Bank-issued debit and credit cards. And to help make payments safer and faster, the bank is using HCE (Host Card Emulation) technology. Axis Bank Head of Cards & Merchant Acquiring Business Sanjeev Moghe said, “We see a tremendous growth opportunity for the contactless payments adoption and therefore, our new offering, ‘Axis Tap & Pay,’ is designed to cater to this segment.”