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UPI 123Pay: Payments for Feature Phones
UPI 123Pay exists for a simple reason: not everyone in India carries a smartphone with a stable internet connection, and NPCI built a version of UPI that works without either. It covers four distinct methods, and which one applies to you depends on your phone and your connectivity.
The Four Ways UPI 123Pay Works
1. IVR calling: call a pre-defined IVR number, complete onboarding without needing internet access, and choose your transaction in a language of your preference through the call menu.
2. Missed call pay: give a missed call to a designated number, receive a callback, and authenticate the transaction by entering your UPI PIN during that call.
3. Feature phone apps: a native payment app, built through partnerships like Gupshup with Airtel Payments Bank, or JioPay with Jio Payments Bank, integrated directly by the phone manufacturer, supporting most core UPI functions including Scan and Pay.
4. Proximity sound-based payments: tap your phone near a merchant's sound box, press a key when you hear the unique tone, then enter the amount and your UPI PIN to complete a contactless payment.
Additional Read: The Ultimate Guide to UPI: Pay Anyone, Anywhere in 2026
What You Can Actually Do Through 123Pay
Beyond simple person-to-person transfers, UPI 123Pay supports practical use cases like FASTag recharges and routine bill payments, all authenticated with your UPI PIN the same way a smartphone transaction would be, just routed through a call or a sound signal instead of an app's touchscreen.
This means even a feature phone user can, in principle, settle something like a pay credit card bill payment through one of these four channels, provided their bank and service provider support it under 123Pay.
Additional Read: The Future of UPI: Faster, Safer, and Everywhere
Getting Started
Onboarding for the IVR and missed call methods can be completed without an internet connection, which is the whole point of the service. Availability depends on which banks and service providers have enabled 123Pay for your specific combination of bank and telecom operator, so it is worth confirming with your bank which of the four methods it supports before assuming all of them are live for you.
For smartphone users, Stashfin's UPI service offers the more familiar app-based version of the same underlying network that powers UPI 123Pay: 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.
Key Takeaways
UPI 123Pay brings UPI payments to feature phones and low-connectivity users through four distinct methods.
IVR calling and missed call pay can complete onboarding without an internet connection.
Feature phone apps, built through partnerships like Gupshup with Airtel Payments Bank, support most core UPI functions including Scan and Pay.
Proximity sound-based payments let a feature phone user pay a merchant contactlessly using a sound box tone.
Availability depends on which banks and service providers have enabled each of the four methods for your account.
