UPI app recommendation (alternatives to paytm)

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dpandey

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I have been using paytm for about 3-4 years. I signed up to pay for Uber but started using it for utility and online payment. While it does the job, their customer interface has degraded to the point where is now feels more like a TV/sales channel rather than a financial service. Just thinking about contacting their helpdesk increases my blood pressure.

I am looking for a replacement that is designed for adults. It should do what it is suppose to and nothing more. No ads in the app and no 'offers' or 'scratchcards' even if it is 'specially customized for me'.

I was wondering what UPI/wallet apps you guys use.
 
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Arjun said:
i use phonepe, you will get these offers on all apps, maybe try your banks app.
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How is the customer service? With paytm, you can only contact them through the app and they flood you with canned responses every time you type something.

I needed to get something done and have now decided to close my account rather than deal with their customer service.
 
Mainly use PhonePe but sometimes Paytm and GPAY also. But so far no experience of help desk, except with Paytm related to Fastag and Paytm first credit card. On both the instances, it was fine though everything through app.

BTW, overall I felt, Paytm is way quicker in payments compared with other apps and GPAY is worse off them.
 
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I've been using Amazon pay for a while now. I like the cash backs and scratch cards especially when the cashback for ordering an LPG through Amazon pay is higher than the government subsidy:tearsofjoy:.
 
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dexterz said:
I've been using Amazon pay for a while now. I like the cash backs and scratch cards especially when the cashback for ordering an LPG through Amazon pay is higher than the government subsidy:tearsofjoy:.
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This sounds interesting. Is Amazon pay a separate app or is it a part of their main shopping app? Also, can I use the stored credit card (which I use for shopping) for UPI payments?

I have another question about UPI for credit cards. Google pay gives us the option of adding credit cards in gpay. Will it be any different from adding a bank account (except maybe we cannot receive payments)?
 
dpandey said:
How is the customer service? With paytm, you can only contact them through the app and they flood you with canned responses every time you type something.

I needed to get something done and have now decided to close my account rather than deal with their customer service.
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All apps have similar customer care, i had contacted them once , was a similar experience to paytrm.
 
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Used many
Can say
ICICI I mobile is the best, along with that amazon pay upi is also good.

These two are most reliable in my experience
 
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dpandey said:
It should do what it is suppose to and nothing more. No ads in the app and no 'offers' or 'scratchcards'
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unfortunately nothing that short is available in India.. probably BHIM is close to what you seeking, but its been some time i have used it personally.
I had paytm account due to uber, same as yours and have abandoned them whey they stole ~500rs from my wallet when they were converting to paytmbank.
calls, mail, twitter nothing worked .. they took me in circles so i given up at last and have forgoten those 500 ,, and was never into digital payment.

Later i was as force to accepted this digital payment again during inception of covid. and i did a little research...
Absolute worst was google pay- most bugged and slowest app, payments failed multiple time, I faced many embarrassing moment due to this.
PayTM is the second worst due to its super bloated app -- it is more of a adwall.
Amazon, etc were not matured enough at that time so i settled fro PhoenPe - it had less bloats compared to paytm.. and i really happy with that. But now gradually its catching up PayTM ini bloating race.
Customer support of paytm was easily reachable then PhonePe... based on my personal experience.

dpandey said:
Can it handle utility payments? Like notify me if a bill arrives, fetch bill details etc.
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when i last checked it.. no it was plain UPI app... no bells and whistles.
If you are using paytm and happy with their services, you can continue using that .. because sooner or later phonepay will beat them in adwares.
 
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I use BHIM and GPay regularly. Bills etc. are paid on BHIM. You can easily setup billers on both the apps. BHIM has one good feature where you can set your UPI ID as yourname@upi which is simpler than GPay's youremail@okhdfcbank. Never needed to use any other app and both the apps are ad free.
 
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dpandey said:
This sounds interesting. Is Amazon pay a separate app or is it a part of their main shopping app? Also, can I use the stored credit card (which I use for shopping) for UPI payments?

I have another question about UPI for credit cards. Google pay gives us the option of adding credit cards in gpay. Will it be any different from adding a bank account (except maybe we cannot receive payments)?
Click to expand...
Part of shopping app. Has reminders for utilities and mobile recharge after you transact once. Can pay utilities with credit card
 
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dpandey said:
Can it handle utility payments? Like notify me if a bill arrives, fetch bill details etc.
Just checked playstore. Lot of negative feedback in Jan 22
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Yes it can. Notify bills and fetch bill details.

One good aspect of BHIM is. You can associate multiple bank accounts with your 1 UPI id. And choose a default account for receiving money or doing transactions. Once the BHIM app opens (for payments) you can toggle which account to use. With PhonePe (not sure about Gpay), you associate each bank account with one UPI id. So at time of payments you need to remember which bank account = which UPI. For BHIM you just punch in xxxyy@upi, and you are done.
 
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BHIM - GPay - PhonePe in that order. It's best advised to link only one account that is used mostly for spending.

A lot of posts have already covered BHIM. This would be the preferred choice.

GPay:
Good: No-nonsense app, not many ads shoved into the phone.
Bad: Like any other Google service, it's data-hungry. Lots of failed payments and won't reward you much (not a deal-breaker)

PhonePe:
Good: Far lesser failed payments. Lots of connected services.
Bad: Triggers false payment reminders (I paid utility bills twice, thrice in a month). The app UI feels bloated and lastly, it feels like the next mobiqwik.

PayTm: They just sell your data to the Chinese Communist Party.
 
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If you shop in amazon, amazon pay is the best owing to the following features
- It is integrated into their app. No seperate app is necessary
- It gives rewards for each transations. Many time get 50 off 500 coupon, and at times cashback
- Reasonably reliable than Google Pay
 
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Thanks guys for your help. BHIM and Gpay sound like the minimalist apps that I need. I don't want to install shopping or full access banking apps on my main mobile.

Ramadhir Singh said:
If you are using paytm and happy with their services, you can continue using that .. because sooner or later phonepay will beat them in adwares.
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Just reading this makes me depressed. For all the millions in investment that these companies talk about, I often wonder why they can't get any good advice on UI design.

I logged into my paypal.com account after many years, just to recheck what it looks like. It felt good to see a cleanly designed web application, which promises to do one thing and does it well. My paytm mobile app has eight full color banners of which 3 are displaying syndicated ads.

I pay my jizya to google every month so that I can watch their content without ads. Don't paytm and phonepe take a cut from every transaction? Why do they need to bombard me with syndicated ads?
 
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dpandey said:
Thanks guys for your help. BHIM and Gpay sound like the minimalist apps that I need. I don't want to install shopping or full access banking apps on my main mobile.


Just reading this is depressing. For all the millions in investment that these companies talk about, I often wonder why they can't get any good advice on UI design.

I logged into my paypal.com account after many years, just to recheck what it looks like. It felt good to see a cleanly designed web application, which promises to do one thing and does it well. My paytm mobile app has eight full color banners of which 3 are displaying syndicated ads.

I pay my jizya to google every month so that I can watch their content without ads. Don't paytm and phonepe take a cut from every transaction? Why do they need to bombard me with syndicated ads?
Click to expand...

PayTM is seriously a bad application. I have to use PayTM once a month. When money is being added, it defaults to "keep wallet topped up" or something. It is so annoying. And yes the solicitation is miles ahead.
 
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