How to Set Up UPI Without a Smartphone

*99# is a USSD, or Unstructured Supplementary Service Data, code that connects your phone directly to your bank's UPI services through a menu-driven session, similar to checking your mobile balance. It works over any GSM mobile network without requiring internet data, a smartphone, or any app installation whatsoever.

*1. Dial 99# from your registered mobile number on any phone, feature phone or smartphone alike.

2. Select your bank from the list presented in the menu, or enter your bank's specific short code if you know it.

3. Set your UPI PIN by entering your debit card's last six digits and expiry date, the same verification method used for app-based UPI setup.

4. Confirm your UPI ID which the service generates for you, tied to your registered mobile number.

Additional Read: What is My UPI? Finding and Managing Your Virtual Payment Address

Once set up, the menu-driven session lets you send money to a mobile number, UPI ID, or account number, check your account balance, and generate a mini statement, covering the core functions most people actually use a UPI app for day to day, just through a text-based menu instead of a graphical interface.

This makes *99# a genuine option for someone managing a credit card bill payment or any other UPI transfer even without a smartphone on hand, though the experience is understandably more basic than a full graphical app.

This service was specifically designed for financial inclusion, reaching users in areas with poor internet connectivity, those who cannot afford a smartphone, or older feature phone users who simply prefer a familiar keypad-based interface over a touchscreen app. It brings the same underlying UPI rail, and the same bank-to-bank settlement, to anyone with a basic mobile connection.

*99# does not support QR code scanning, since there is no camera or screen capable of displaying a code, and per-session functionality is generally more limited than a full app, focused on core transfers rather than richer features like bill splitting, merchant discovery, or recurring mandates. It remains a genuinely functional fallback rather than a full replacement for an app-based experience.

UPI 123Pay, a separate NPCI initiative launched later, extended UPI to feature phones through IVR calls, missed-call-based payments, and sound-based proximity payments, offering a somewhat richer experience than the plain USSD menu of *99#. The two services coexist rather than one replacing the other, giving feature phone users more than one route into UPI depending on which their specific bank and network support.

Telecom operators are permitted to charge a small fee per USSD session for *99#, unlike a standard app-based UPI transaction, which carries no such session charge. This fee is generally modest, but it is worth being aware that a feature-phone-based UPI session may not be entirely free the way an app-based transfer typically is.

If dialing *99# returns an error or simply times out, the most common cause is that your specific telecom operator has not enabled USSD-based banking services on your particular SIM or plan, rather than any problem with your bank's own UPI registration. Confirming with your operator that USSD banking is active, checking that you are dialing from your exact registered mobile number, and trying again after restarting your phone are the first practical steps before assuming something is wrong with your bank account itself. In poor network coverage areas, a USSD session can also occasionally drop mid-way through, in which case simply redialing and starting the menu sequence again typically resolves it without any lasting issue.

Even as smartphone ownership continues rising across India, *99# retains genuine relevance as a dependable fallback during a lost phone, a temporary network data outage, or a trip to an area with patchy internet coverage, situations where a fully app-based user would otherwise find themselves unable to transact at all. NPCI continuing to actively maintain this parallel channel reflects a deliberate commitment to keeping UPI genuinely accessible regardless of a person's specific device or connectivity situation at any given moment.

For anyone with access to a smartphone, Stashfin's UPI service offers the fuller app-based experience, letting you scan and pay to any mobile number or UPI ID, or move money to your own bank account, directly through bank-to-bank UPI rails, with the richer interface a graphical app provides over a basic USSD menu.

• *99# is NPCI's USSD-based UPI service, working on any mobile phone without internet data or a smartphone app.

• Setup follows the same core verification as app-based UPI, using your debit card details to set a PIN.

• It supports sending money, checking balance, and generating a mini statement through a menu-driven session.

• It does not support QR scanning and offers a more limited feature set than a full graphical app.

• UPI 123Pay is a separate, richer feature-phone option that coexists alongside *99# rather than replacing it.