Most popular Android app in India: BHIM

Just days after launch, government's online payments app BHIM (Bharat Interface for Mobile) has become the most popular Android app in India. The app is topping the charts on Google's Play Store in India with a rating of 4.1.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched the BHIM app last week (December 30) at an event in New Delhi. The app is based on the Unified Payment Interface (UPI) and is common across all banks and financial institutions.

Speaking at the event, PM Modi said that the BHIM app will empower the poorest of the poor. "It is for the small merchant, farmers in far-flung areas, tribals. That's why its name has been borrowed from the man who sacrificed his life for the downtrodden" PM Modi said while launching the app.

The app doesn't require an internet connection and can work on simple feature phones. Aadhaar-based payments are expected to be added to the app in the coming weeks.

The all-new BHIM app aims to enable people to send and receive money through their mobile phones by linking their bank accounts. It will also work on feature phones through the upgraded USSD (Unstructured Supplementary Service Data) platform.

The app comes with features such as the ability to send and receive money, linking accounts, saving user profiles, changing languages, recording beneficiary details and providing balance enquiry. Banks, which currently have individual UPI apps, can reportedly either endorse the common app or allow customers to use in-house apps that may be loaded with more features.

Once users links UPI-based payment service with their respective bank accounts using smartphones or feature phones, they can use BHIM app for transactions.

However, unlike e-wallets like Paytm, Freecharge and others, the app allows users to send money to even non-UPI accounts or IDs; users can do so by sending money via IFSC and MMID codes. Users will also be able to utilise QR codes for payments.