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PM Modi Launches BHIM App for e-Payments on Demonetisation Deadline Day

Representative image.

New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday launched a new mobile app called BHIM to enable fast, secure and reliable payments system that uses smartphones for cashless transactions.

The application has been named after Dalit icon Bhim Rao Ambedkar.

BHIM, short for Bharat Interface for Money, can be used with other Unified Payment Interface (UPI) applications and bank accounts.

To use it, one needs to download the app from an App store and register their bank accounts and set up a UPI pin for the account. The mobile number is the payment address and one can start transactions immediately.

The new app is expected to minimise the role of plastic cards and point of sale machines. The app will eliminate fee payments for service providers like MasterCard and Visa, which has been a stumbling block in people switching to digital payments.

The app can be used to send and receive money through smartphones. Money can also be sent to non UPI supported banks. Bank balance can also be checked through the app. Currently Hindi and English are supported in the app, with more languages coming soon.

Indicating the e-wallet app will feature fingerprint verification in future, PM Modi said: “Only your thumb will be needed to make a payment. Your thumb will be your bank.”