Has your Internet connection ever gone out when you were in the middle of an online money transfer utilising Google Pay, Paytm, PhonePe, or another UPI payment provider? If so, you’ve likely thought about this before. If that’s the case, you might find the *99# USSD-based (Unstructured Supplementary Service Data) mobile banking service very helpful. With this function, you can send and receive funds, modify your UPI PIN, and view your account balance even when you don’t have access to the internet.
The *99# service has made financial services available to everyone in the country. The service, which is provided by 83 of the world’s most respected banks and 4 of the most prominent telecom service providers, is available in 13 languages (including Hindi and English).
So, let me take you through the process of setting up offline UPI payment and how to pay via SMS at terminals.
How to setup offline UPI payment? Step by step guide:
- Step 1: On your smartphone or feature phone, dial *99#. But in order for this service to function, you must call from the same phone number that has been associated with your bank account.
- Step 2: Next, pick the language of your choice and type in the name of your bank.
- Step 3: When a list of bank accounts associated with your number is displayed, select the one you want to use by selecting the appropriate option.
- Step 4: Now input the expiration date and the last six numbers of your debit card.
- Step 5: After setting it up properly, you can make UPI payments without an Internet connection by following the instructions that follow.
How to make offline UPI payment? step by step guide:
- Step 1: To send money, dial *99# on your phone and enter 1.
- Step 2: Select your preferred choice and enter the recipient’s UPI ID, phone number, or bank account number.
- Step 3: Next, enter your UPI PIN along with the money.
- Step 4: You will only be charged a maximum of Rs. 0.50 per transaction for using the *99# service after your payment has been successfully processed.
Keep in mind that the current maximum for this service is Rs. 5,000. Please try this out and share your thoughts below if you find it helpful.
