Xiaomi’s answer to Google Pay – Mi Pay – is now officially available in India. Mi Pay is a UPI-based app that will let you make payments, transfer funds, and pay for utilities right from your bank account. Xiaomi launched Mi Pay in China initially but began testing it in India only in August last year, giving Xiaomi device (except Android One phones) owners early access.
Although Mi Pay has been available to the MIUI users in the testing stage, Xiaomi was awaiting a nod from the National Payments Council of India, otherwise known as NPCI. The Mi Pay app is now officially recognised by NPCI and can be downloaded only on the devices running MIUI.
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Mi Pay is powered by Unified Payments Interface (UPI) that is the standard for bank-to-bank transfer with a unique address provided by the vendor. The service requires the user’s mobile number, which is registered with the bank account, to be verified on a device meant to be used for UPI transactions.
Xiaomi says Mi Pay is closely integrated into MIUI – which means the users do not have to specifically launch the app to make payments. If the contact is registered on Mi Pay, the Contacts app will show an option to make a payment directly. The Mi Pay services also extend to App Vault, SMS app, and the Camera app.
Other than letting you transfer funds to an UPI-enabled bank account, Mi Pay offers payment service for mobile recharge, utility bills, and QR codes. The UPI services are provided by ICICI Bank, which means your UPI ID will be of the same bank.
Operating a digital payments service in India mandates the vendor to have an official in India to be available for any grievances the customers may have. It also requires them to set up necessary infrastructure that is compliant with NPCI guidelines. Xiaomi says Mi Pay will store all the payment-related data locally (on India servers) in an “encrypted” manner.
