Private sector lender, ICICI Bank has launched a facility for linking a Unified Payments Interface (UPI) ID with its digital wallet, ‘Pockets’. This facility is a variation from the current system under which the UPI IDs are linked with a savings bank account.

ICICI Bank in a statement on Wednesday said that this initiative allows users to try small-value daily transactions directly from their Pockets wallet using UPI safely and securely, helping them streamline the number of transactions being made every day from their savings account, thus, de-cluttering their savings account statement from multiple entries. Furthermore, it will expand the convenient usage of UPI to young adults such as college students, who may not be having a savings account. New users, including people who are not customers of ICICI Bank, can now instantly get a UPI ID, pre-linked to Pockets wallet, while customers having an existing UPI ID will get a new ID after they log in into the Pockets app.

ICICI bank has collaborated with the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) for linking its ‘Pockets’ digital wallet to the UPI network. Bijith Bhaskar, Head, Digital Channels and Partnership, ICICI Bank stated that research conducted by them suggests that users are keen to link their UPI ID with their digital wallet, and can directly utilize the balance in the wallet for smaller transactions while using their savings account only for the larger ones. He told that this facility will provide immense comfort and the advantages of secured UPI payments to the customers using Pockets wallet.