Spice Money, a subsidiary of DiGiSPICE Technologies, has partnered with Wibmo, a PayU company, to introduce “Spice Pay,” a UPI solution designed for rural India. This move aims to extend the reach of the Unified Payments Interface (UPI) to India’s rural areas, addressing the unique challenges hindering digital payment adoption.
Surge in internet users
In 2022, India saw a surge in internet users, reaching 759 million, with a substantial rural population. By 2025, this number is expected to rise to 900 million, with a majority in rural regions. However, rural areas face obstacles to UPI adoption, including a lack of active debit cards, mobile number seeding issues, inactive bank accounts, and a reliance on cash-based income sources with limited cash deposit points.
Spice Pay will offer Instant Prepaid Cards and mobile wallets linked to UPI IDs, eliminating entry barriers for rural users. Additionally, Spice Pay plans to simplify mobile number seeding through its Instant UPI ID Creation process, using eKYC for seamless registration.
Banking beyond banks
For those with inactive bank accounts, Spice Pay will introduce a Standalone Prepaid Wallet account linked to a UPI ID, eliminating the need for traditional bank accounts. The service will also address the shortage of cash deposit points by providing convenient Cash Deposit and Withdrawal services.
Spice Pay will offer financial services such as cash top-ups, transaction history tracking, bill payments, and recharge options. Leveraging its vast network of over 12.7 lakh Adhikaris (nanopreneurs), Spice Money aims to ensure access to digital transactions even in the most remote areas.
Spice Money and Wibmo have partnered to expand digital banking and payment platform services across India. This partnership will allow rural consumers to enjoy increased account limits, cash deposit and withdrawal facilities, enhanced cash deposit limits, and insurance coverage through interoperable Prepaid Payment Instruments (PPI). The partnership is supported by NPCI, RuPay, PayU Wibmo, and Spice Money, and is expected to bring 250 million underserved citizens of rural India into the UPI ecosystem.
