Here’s what’s new with Paytm’s app update, as it coincides with BHIM App

On Friday, Vijay Shekhar Sharma took to Facebook Live to introduce some of the key features of the newly updated Android Paytm app.

He was joined by Deepak Abbot, SVP, Product Growth at Paytm, who explained the various features of the new product.

Here are some of the changes that will hit your Paytm app with the latest update:

• Adding Money: The ‘Add Money’ feature on your new Paytm app allows the transfer of money to your wallet to be done on the same page, without having to go to a separate webpage.

Further, users can see their ‘Saved card’ details upfront. However, while making the demo, Vijay did seem to make a slight remark on SBI, asking Deepak whether there was SBI available for transferring money to Paytm wallets.

Just two days ago, the news came out that India’s biggest bank, the State Bank of India (SBI), had blocked its customers from transferring money to their Paytm wallets.

When asked as to why this was the case, Vijay chuckled and said, “Because they are trying to cope up to our traffic.”

 Deepak also stated that Paytm now has two million merchants using its platform, a milestone they reached earlier in the day.

• Accepting payments: After multiple complaints from merchants around wallet-to-bank transfer, Paytm chose to increase the limit of accepting payments from Rs 25,000 a month to Rs 50,000.

And this was made possible through the introduction of a new option. First is the regular QR code scan, which carries out the instant settlement of payments in your wallet. However, the limit for that transaction remains Rs 20,000.

The second key change is the newly introduced ‘Bank Account’ feature. The feature enables users to take their money directly to the bank account.

Further, every 24 hours, the money sent to a user will be directly credited to their bank accounts, on choosing the specific option. The feature lets a users send Rs 50,000 to each other.

Both the features come with 0 percent transaction charges.

• Security (App lock): With the outcry over the security of mobile wallets earlier this month, Paytm enhanced its app lock security feature.

 Users can now use not just a pattern or number lock, but also their finger print sensor to enter the app.     However, this feature is available only on Android for the moment, and will be available on iOS soon.

• The Pay feature: Paying everything is integrated onto one screen, and customers can now pay even if the payee e-mails or WhatsApps the payer his/her QR code.

 There is also a confirmation feature, which checks with the user before making the payment.

• Unverified wallet: If the phone number to whom the payment is being made does not have Paytm, the transaction will not be processed, with the money falling back into the user's wallet.
• Passbook: In the previous version of the app, when the internet was slow, the available balance would not show, being marked by plain dashes. Paytm now seems to be working on their APIs for even 2G networks.

  People can also view their statements. However, Vijay confirmed that customers cannot see their statements    of the last six months, making it offline temporarily, owing to the volume of data.

• Post-transaction screen: After a certain transaction is made, the screen which pops up shows the current balance and has a 'Logout' feature for security. This means that users can log off immediately, in case they worry about losing their smartphone.
• Paytm community forum: Paytm claims to have 10 million users who work with the wallet to educate other customers about using Paytm. Hence, the app already has a community forum that can get your queries about the payment platform clarified.
• Paytm Assist: This allows users to have a one click checkout by quickly understanding their OTP during a transaction.
• Nearby: Using this feature, users can allow Paytm to access their phone’s location and help figure out the closest merchants who accept Paytm.

However, what seems to be most interesting is Paytm's announcement of their new app on the same day that Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced the release of the BHIM app. 

BHIM is inter-operable with other Unified Payment Interface (UPI) applications and bank accounts, and has been developed by the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI).