Essential bills like electricity, water, and gas form a significant part of your monthly expenses. Earlier, paying utility bills meant dealing with long queues, juggling paperwork, and managing payment deadlines that could disrupt your daily schedule. The Unified Payments Interface (UPI) has simplified the entire payment process for Indians.
UPI is a payment system that enables real-time fund transfers and is much faster than traditional methods like NEFT, RTGS, or IMPS. With its introduction, the task of managing bills, transferring funds, and performing other financial transactions has become much more efficient.
How to pay electricity bill through UPI?
The convenience of bill payment through UPI makes it possible to settle your electricity dues from the comfort of your home anytime, from any location. Simply follow these steps:
- Download a UPI payment app(e.g. INDIE by IndusInd Bank)
- Select the ‘Bill Payment’ or ‘Pay Bills’ option
- Here, you will see various bill payment options. Select ‘Electricity’ to proceed
- Each region has different electricity providers. Choose yours from the list and input your consumer number or account ID
- Most UPI apps will retrieve the bill amount automatically. Verify this amount with the figure on your physical or e-bill
- Now proceed to pay. Authenticate the transaction with your UPI PIN, after which you will receive a confirmation
How to pay water bills through UPI?
To conduct a water bill payment through UPI, follow these steps:
- Open the bill payment section in your UPI payment app and select ‘Water’ bills
- Select the water board or the relevant authority that supplies water to your area
- Enter your account number or consumer ID of the bill. Confirm the amount
- Proceed with the payment, select your bank account, and enter your UPI PIN to initiate the transaction
How to transfer money through UPI?
Transferring funds via UPI is fast, safe, and efficient. Here is how you can do it:
- Choose the ‘Send Money’ or ‘Transfer’ option in your UPI payment app
- You can enter the recipient’s UPI ID and bank account number or simply select them from your contacts if they are already UPI-registered
- Specify the amount you wish to transfer
- Confirm the details and initiate the transaction with your UPI PIN
- The money gets transferred instantly, after which both the sender and the recipient will receive a confirmation notification
How to secure your account from UPI frauds |Tips and tricks
To secure your account from UPI fraud, it is important to trust a secure digital banking app like INDIE by IndusInd Bank. A 4-digit MPIN or biometric authentication keeps your every login and transaction safe. You enjoy seamless UPI bill payments and high protection against unauthorised access, financial theft or data breaches.
Here are additional tips to secure your account from UPI frauds:
| Never share your UPI PIN | Your UPI PIN is confidential. Never disclose it to anyone, as it’s the key to your bank account. |
| Avoid phishing scams | Be cautious of fake phone calls, emails, and messages asking for sensitive information or urging you to click on links. |
| Be careful with public Wi-Fi | Avoid making UPI transactions over public Wi-Fi or insecure networks. |
| Use strong passwords | Set a strong, unique password for your device. Keep updating them to add an extra layer of security. |
| Set transaction alerts | Activate SMS or email alerts for transactions to track all activities and quickly detect any suspicious transactions. |
| Use biometrics | Enable biometric authentication like fingerprint for accessing your UPI app. |
To conclude
From electricity and water bills to other utilities, the UPI feature helps you make secure, fast, and convenient transactions directly from your smartphone.
While UPI bill payments offer convenience, its full benefits are best realised when you give security equal importance. So, make sure to select the right UPI-enabled app and practise safe digital banking practices to avoid fraud.
