January 16, 2025 · 10 mins read
Santosh Kumar
UPI has introduced new ways to manage digital money transactions, i.e., routing and receiving money to individuals. It enables users to pay instantly using their phones. With UPI finally becoming mainstream and constantly developing, it's a daily necessity for millions of people in India and other places. The most recent UPI ecosystem to be introduced is UPI Circle, specifically designed to address shortfalls in the transaction envelope in a non-intrusive manner. In this article, we will describe a UPI Circle, its workings, its qualities, and the benefits it provides to users. This is a tutorial description to make this concept accessible.
Before diving into the UPI Circle, it's important to understand what UPI itself is.
UPI (by the National Payments Corporation of India-NPCI) is a real-time payment system. It allows users to transfer funds between organisations instantaneously and at any time on a 24/7 basis. UPI has been promoted with the advantages of simplicity, security, and rapidness. It enables the user to generate income by transferring money on the smartphone by linking the user's bank account with the UPI ID (or VPA, Virtual Payment Address).
Some of the key benefits of UPI include:
Instant transactions: UPI allows for immediate transfer of funds.
Convenience: Fast and easy, the user can move money through a mobile phone anywhere in the world.
Security: UPI uses two-factor authentication to ensure secure transactions
Low Cost: Transactions through UPI essentially do not incur a fee or are almost free.
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The functioning of a UPI Circle is easy. Here's how it functions:
Creating a Circle: The users can create a UPI Circle by choosing a sample name or a category of the circle, such as "Family," "Office Friends," or "University Group. Then, they may shout at their teammates to join them on the basis of his/her UPI ID or mobile number.
Adding Members: Once a circle is formed, the user can invite other users. The invited participants will be notified and can accept the invitation to join in.
Making Payments: After having everyone inside the circle, people can get cash from one another. These kinds of payments range from tipping a waiter at a restaurant to giving to a charity or jumping on a group buy.
Tracking Transactions: Moreover, UPI Circle also offers the possibility of recording all the transactions of the group payments. This is most relevant in a scenario where it is a longitudinally recorded value metric of an event/item's value produced/invested money.
Group Notifications: Payments or refreshes are indicated to the user by a circle. Such a process will guarantee that all are informed and participatory.
UPI Circle entails a number of novel features that differentiate this from common UPI payments:
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Group Payments: The most distinctive characteristic of UPI Circle is the group payment ability. From splitting the cost of a coffee bill to paying each other's expenses on a group outing to making a donation on behalf of a good cause, all of these transfers can be done via UPI Circle, making it simple for any group payment.
Automatic Contribution Tracking: UPI Circle automatically maintains a record of every member's contribution to the circle group. This ensures that no issues of cost assignment arise and that everyone is aware of what they have to pay.
Ease of Use: Creating a UPI Circle and adding members is straightforward. This interface is a highly user-friendly interface and hence can be used by anyone without any age group, irrespective of technical skill.
Security: Like regular UPI transactions, UPI Circle is implemented with a paramount focus on the security and safety of all such transactions. It is a symmetric encryption and authentication scheme that can be used to secure financial data.
Flexibility: You can create multiple circles for different purposes. For example, you could have one circle for family, another for work, and another one for friends and community activities, etc.
UPI Circle has several benefits, which makes it an effective adjunct to GBT. Some of these benefits include:
One of the good sides of UPI Circle is that it is simple and easy to make multiple payments with a group payment. If a crowd of individuals is jointly responsible for a shared cost, UPI Circle helps you easily track due payments and make them jointly. There is no need for all contributors to submit each component separately; all components may be submitted in a single submission.
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In UPI Circle, one is not required to keep track of who is in debt and how much. The system records all transactions with the level of detail that ownership of which product item is entered is easily visible. It would be especially useful when payment or an event is shared by a large number of parties.
UPI transactions usually do not involve any fee/transaction fee, etc. If a UPI Circle is used to make large-scale payments within a circle, there are no third-party middlemen or cash payments, and these can rise as a cost.
Using UPI Circle, the user can make and receive money instantly, making it a very practical way of making a payment. It is easy and quick, even when sharing the cost of shopping, contributing to a community activity, or repaying a friend.
UPI Circle is not only one kind of payment. It has the potential to be used in an individual, social, or commercial application. Whether it is a family party, a crowd gift, or a crowd project's fund, UPI Circle as a platform can do it.
UPI Circle facilitates social mobility, allowing users to create circles. It can also be deployed to better family, community, and work relationships, capitalising on the ability to pool financial resources. This modality also tends to foster a shared sense of responsibility and participation.
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Using UPI Circle is simple. Here's a step-by-step guide on how you can get started:
Download a UPI-enabled app: To use UPI Circle, you need a UPI-supported app, such as Google Pay, PhonePe, or Paytm. Obtain (i.e., download) and install one of the apps above on your smartphone.
Set Up Your UPI ID: (If you haven't already, set up your UPI account and, following the app's instructions, link your bank account and create a UPI ID/VPA.)
Create a Circle: After you've configured your UPI account, open the app and find the section to make a UPI Circle. You'll be prompted to name your circle and invite members to join.
Add Members: Prompt users to invite others to your community by providing their mobile number or UPI ID. They'll receive an invite and can choose to join.
Make Payments: The group payments can start as soon as the circle is drawn and the members are represented. Simply choose which party you want to pay, set the amount, and authorise the payment.
Track Transactions: After each payment, the circle will be able to automatically log and report what each member wrote on the circle.
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UPI Circle is a new addition function to enhance the UPI system. Group payments, tracking of expenses, as well as community-based transactions have become easier, neat, and more efficient. Never mind; it's a family affair, sharing the load with a group or celebrating with friends, inevitably, UPI Circle is a valid option for you.
UPI Circle offers a convenient and secure channel for individuals to manage money as a group through a growing number of digital payments. Simpler payments are expected to save users some time and alleviate their problems, as well as lead to more sharing of benefits by the users of money.
In conclusion, UPI Circle is a valuable addition to the already powerful UPI ecosystem. Most importantly, it offers easy access to digital payment, and its application has great potential to simplify group payments. As digital payments, like UPI Circle, become more commonplace, electronic financial transactions are likely to be more influenced.
What is the purpose of UPI Circle?
UPI Circle is designed to simplify group payment, allowing people to come together and form a circle where money can be deposited and withdrawn without too much effort. It is intended for the social nature of its application rather than for the application to individuals (e.g., sharing the cost of a restaurant meal, funding an event, or making a charitable donation for any one project).
Can I create multiple circles in UPI Circle?
Yes, you can create various circles for different purposes. For instance, there could be a circle for family money, another for office colleagues, and another for friends or community. This enables you to handle various transaction sets conveniently.
Is there any restriction on the number of members who can join the UPI Circle?
However, there is no strict upper bound for the number of subjects to be involved in a UPI Circle. However, the manageability of such a vast collection of objects is an issue if the circle, in particular, requires keeping track of a collection of operations, i.e.
Can one leave a UPI Circle if he/she no longer wishes to participate in it?
Indeed, if you no longer wish to participate in a UPI Circle, you are welcome to disengage at any moment. By leaving the circle, a person is no longer stimulated by the notifications and makes no subsequent payments.
What is the difference between a UPI Circle and a regular UPI payment?
The key difference is that UPI Circle is designed for joint payments, that is, when a set of users is concurrently able to make and receive payments in a given circle. In the case of regular UPI transactions, funds are transferred one-to-one. UPI Circle helps organise and track payments in groups.
Can I use UPI Circle for business purposes?
Although UPI Circle is mainly intended for social/personal group payments, a company can also use it for group payments for clients or team members. However, it is not designed for high-volume business transactions, and its features may resemble those of a traditional payment gateway rather than a real-time gateway.
How do I track payments in my UPI Circle?
UPI Circle automatically logs and records all transaction processes in the circle. Every individual contribution is easily discernible, and they have a complete view of the transaction history to be transparent and keep records.
Can I make international payments using UPI Circle?
Now, UPI Circle is built to work within the Indian context of a domestic setting. Internationally, UPI, or UPI Circle payment, is not even available at this moment. Nevertheless, it is still possible to realise payments to users in India, even if those users are located in a different part of India.
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