Gupshup.io, the leading conversational engagement platform, has partnered with itel, the leading feature phone brand under Transsion Holdings to enable UPI payments on the company’s new ‘Super Guru’ series of phones. The partnership allows users of the newly launched series to seamlessly make money transfers and bill payments on the go using Gupshup.io’s GSPay app. GSPay, the native app built by Gupshup uses the power of SMS messaging to deliver an easy to use payments experience, without the need for data plan or internet connectivity.
The app is powered by RBI and NPCI’s UPI 123 Pay and enables safe and secure payments via SMS. The app lets users pay bills, sends them actionable payment reminders and helps them keep a track of their outgoing and incoming transactions done on UPI. It gives users an option to make payments either via mobile number or UPI ID. Besides, itel’s users can also scan QR codes to make payments.
Beerud Sheth, CEO and Co-founder, Gupshup.io said, “At Gupshup, we’ve built deep expertise over the years in creating rich experiences through the messaging channel. Enabling payments is a first but significant step towards building phone agnostic customer experiences.”
He further added, “itel, being a leader in the feature phone segment, is serving as an enabler to assist the large feature phone user base. By leveraging the UPI technology, via GSPay itel users will experience and expand the horizons of what they can achieve from their mobile device. We will continue to collaborate with itel closely to bring more users into the fold of digital payments going ahead.“
As many as 51.3% Indians do not have access to the internet, and GSPay will help them make B2B and P2P payments, without any data connection. The GSPay app is available in English, Hindi, Gujarati, Tamil, Telugu, Bengali, Kannada, Malayalam & Punjabi to ensure ease of access across regions.
Commenting on the partnership, Mr Arijeet Talapatra, CEO, itel India said, “As India’s digital footprint expands rapidly, itel is dedicated to empowering the masses to become digitally literate and technology-savvy. We are extremely thrilled to partner with Gupshup as we strive to empower the feature phone users with UPI payments through our latest Super Guru series. Being a leader in the feature phone segment in India with 38.1% market share (Jan-April 2023 as per CounterPoint research), this collaboration with Gupshup represents our shared vision to bridge the digital divide and make advanced services accessible to every individual in Bharat”.
Gupshup.io has worked extensively with National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) to develop GSPay. Prior to this, Gupshup.io has partnered with Nokia (HMD Global) to enable GSPay on Nokia 105 (2023) and Nokia 106 4G feature phones.