This company claims to offer foolproof UPI payments service to feature phone users

MissCallPay is an offering by Minkville Innoventures Pvt Ltd, founded by "serial entrepreneur & visionary" Mitesh Thakker and is aimed at "bringing 973 million new users to UPI through a ultra-simple & secure voice-based payment solution".

According to Thakker, MissCallPay's USP is that it allows even those who are "digitally illiterate" to safely make payments with ease. The segments that MissCallPay is targeting include those who are not very tech savvy, the elderly, semi-urban and rural feature phone users, and those who are very tech savvy and use feature phones to keep themselves safe from cyber attacks.

According to Thakker, a user does not need a smartphone or a smartphone app, and mobile internet to use MissCallPay. He also claims that the feature supports 12 Indian languages and is "ultra simple, secure and spoof-proof".

Thakker says MissCallPay was developed based on an "out-of-band security — phone-as-a-token" patent, which he filed in 2012 and was awarded in 2019 in the United States. He claims MissCallPay supports offline merchants, online merchants and peer-to-peer/bank transactions.

A user gives a missed call on given number

If the user is not registered, he or she will hear this message: "Sorry, you are not on MissCallPaY, please give a missed call on this number to get onboarded. Please keep debit card details handy".

The customer gives a missed call on that number and is prompted to select their preferred language.

The customer, using voice-enabled commands, enters debit card details when prompted by the IVR.

The customer will then receive an OTP from their bank, which must be entered for verification.

The user will then be prompted to set up a PIN, and an option to register their postal code and voice-authentication to be registered on MissCallPay.

The company says onboarding can be done faster with partner banks, with Aadhaar card replacing the debit card.

Each registered merchant has a unique phone number.

The customer gives that number a missed call from their registered mobile number.

They get a call back and, in their own voice, are prompted to enter the amount to be transferred and the UPI PIN.

The transaction is complete.

Thakker says the fact that the customer gets a call back and hears his or her own voice is proof that they are not being cheated. This voice-enabled payments system is fool-proof and completely safe, he says.