New Delhi: Fintech platform Paytm has launched a new feature that lets users create personalised UPI IDs, offering an alternative to using mobile numbers as payment identifiers. The move is part of a broader shift in India’s digital payments ecosystem toward enhancing user privacy and giving users more control over how they receive and send money.
Custom UPI Handles Now Live
The update allows users to create UPI handles such as name@ptyes or name@ptaxis instead of default IDs based on their phone numbers. Currently, the personalised UPI IDs are supported via Yes Bank and Axis Bank, with additional banking partners expected to be onboarded in the coming weeks.
Users can set up a custom UPI ID by navigating to the ‘UPI Settings’ in the Paytm app, selecting ‘Manage UPI ID,’ choosing a personalised ID, and confirming it as their primary handle. The new system aims to let users receive payments without revealing their mobile numbers, particularly useful for store payments, gig work transactions, and peer-to-peer transfers.
Rising Focus on Digital Privacy
This development comes at a time when data privacy concerns are growing among Indian digital payment users. Using phone numbers as default UPI identifiers often results in unintentional exposure of personal information. By decoupling UPI addresses from mobile numbers, Paytm seeks to respond to these concerns with a privacy-first approach. A Paytm spokesperson said the update was based on user feedback and designed to address privacy risks associated with the current UPI framework.
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