Mohammed Sadaf Ahmed ; Dr Sushil Pande

Role of UPI in Transforming Customer Experience Management

Abstract: The Unified Payments Interface (UPI) has swiftly transformed payment systems in India since its commercial launch in 2016. In addition to supplanting cash, UPI has transformed customer interactions with businesses and brands, compelling organisations to reconfigure customer experience (CX) journeys to facilitate instantaneous, seamless payments. This paper integrates empirical statistics, literature, and industry reports to (1) delineate the impact of UPI features on customer experience metrics (convenience, speed, trust, personalisation); (2) analyse changes in merchant and consumer behaviour; (3) identify challenges and risks; and (4) provide managerial recommendations for incorporating UPI into customer experience strategy. Research indicates that UPI's cost-effective, interoperable, instantaneous model has facilitated widespread merchant adoption and habitual usage - minimizing checkout friction, enhancing transactional opportunities for personalisation, and fostering innovative loyalty and data-centric customer experience initiatives while simultaneously highlighting emerging requirements concerning security, operational resilience, and inclusivity. Significant policy and management consequences are examined.

Keywords: UPI; Customer experience; Digital payments; NPCI; Merchant adoption; Personalization

Pages: 15-26

DOI: 10.64353/SJMIR.VOL.1.ISSUE.2.002