Reliance Jio now allows UPI payments through its MyJio app. India’s largest telecom operator has rolled out a UPI payments facility for select users. This feature is available within the MyJio app and can be obtained through an update.

With this, RJio becomes the first telecom operator to facilitate UPI payments through its platform. It has launched the feature on the MyJio app rather than its wallet app, JioMoney.

In order to access the jio upi feature, RJio users will need to create a new UPI ID from the app, ending in ‘@Jio’, after completing the sign-up process for UPI transactions, the report said. Users can then enter their bank account number, mobile number and debit card information to generate a UPI pin and begin making payments through UPI.

The new UPI feature doesn’t have a specific name as of now and is just a part of the MyJio app. It has been rolled out to select users for now, and will soon be available to other users as well. The UPI feature will also assist customers in making payments to recharge their RJio subscription.

RJio had earlier been in talks with ICICI Bank, Axis Bank and SBI to facilitate this feature through its platform.

Expanding digital consumer base

Following its tie-up with SBI back in 2018, and the launch of its wallet app JioMoney, introducing UPI payments will further enhance RJio’s hold over the digital payments niche.

More than 1.3 billion transactions worth more than ₹2 trillion were conducted through UPI in December 2019, according to the National Payment Corporation of India (NPCI).

RJio already has a giant subscriber base to pitch the platform to. According to a recent report by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI), RJio is currently the largest telecom operator in the Indian market with 36.9 crore mobile subscribers as of November 2019.

Competing against existing UPI players

The latest move will help RJio gain a competitive edge over already popular payments banks and UPI platforms such as Google Pay, Flipkart-owned Phone Pe and Paytm. Google Pay accounted for 59.75 per cent of all UPI transactions in August 2019.