BHIM APP: How to Participate in Referral Bonus Scheme for Individuals and Cashback Scheme for Merchants

Presenting the General Budget 2017-18 in the Parliament, the Finance Minister said that the Government will launch two new Schemes to promote the usage of BHIM App.

a) Referral Bonus Scheme for individuals 

b) Cashback Scheme for merchants

You can now check the status of your reward if you have referred a friend by selecting the rewards option.

BHIM-Aadhaar, the merchant interface of the BHIM App:

* It will pave the way for making digital payments by using the Aadhaar platform.

* Any Indian citizen can pay digitally using their biometric data like their thumb imprint on a merchants’ biometric-enabled device which could be smartphone having a biometric reader.

* Any citizen without access to smartphones, the internet, debit or credit cards will be able to transact digitally through the BHIM Aadhaar platform.


* Already, 27 major banks are now on board with 7.15 lakh merchants so that they can start accepting payments using BHIM Aadhaar.

BHIM – Cash back and Referral Bonus Schemes:

* To ensure that the culture of digital payments permeates down to the grassroots.

* Under the Referral bonus scheme both the existing user who refers BHIM and the new user who adopts BHIM would get a cash bonus of Rs 10 credited directly to their account.

* Under the Cashback scheme, the merchants will get a cash back on every transaction using BHIM. Both schemes are to be administered by MEITY and implemented by NPCI.

* Outlay of Rs. 495 crore for a period of six months.To recall, BHIM App was launched to promote digital transactions and will unleash the power of mobile phones for digital payments and financial inclusion, The Finance Minister Shri Jaitley informed the House that 125 lakh people have adopted the BHIM app so far.

Bharat Interface for Money (BHIM) is an initiative to enable fast, secure, reliable cashless payments through your mobile phone. BHIM is interoperable with other Unified Payment Interface (UPI) applications, and bank accounts. BHIM is developed by the National Payment Corporation of India (NPCI). BHIM is made in India and dedicated to the service of the nation.

Download the BHIM App here

New features added in the latest BHIM Version:

* New Languages Supported: Marathi, Punjabi & Assamese
* Send money using Phone contacts (To BHIM/*99# users)
* Blocking/Unblocking feature to protect users from unknown collect requests
* Easy access to saved beneficiaries
* Scan QR saved in phone gallery to send money
* Download your transaction history to keep track of your payments via BHIM
* SBI Maestro are now accepted

* One time option to edit non-mobile VPA

How does it work?

Register your bank account with BHIM, and set a UPI PIN for the bank account. Your mobile number is your payment address (PA), and you can simply start transacting. Yes! It is that simple.

Send / Receive Money: 

Send money to or receive money from friends, family and customers through a mobile number or payment address. Money can also be sent to non-UPI supported banks using IFSC and MMID. You can also collect money by sending a request and reverse payments if required.

Pay using Aadhaar: Make seamless transactions using Aadhaar number. 

Check Balance: You can check your bank balance and transactions details on the go.

Custom Payment Address: You can create a custom payment address in addition to your phone number.

QR Code: You can scan a QR code for faster entry of payment addresses. Merchants can easily print their QR Code for display.

Transaction Limits: Maximum of Rs. 10,000 per transaction and Rs. 20,000 within 24 hours.

Supported Banks: 

- Allahabad Bank 
- Andhra Bank
- Axis Bank 
- Bank of Baroda
- Bank of India 
- Bank of Maharashtra
- Canara Bank
- Catholic Syrian Bank 
- Central Bank of India
- DCB Bank 
- Dena Bank
- Federal Bank 
- HDFC Bank
- ICICI Bank 
- IDBI Bank 
- IDFC Bank 
- Indian Bank 
- Indian Overseas Bank 
- IndusInd Bank
- Karnataka Bank 
- Karur Vysya Bank 
- Kotak Mahindra Bank 
- Oriental Bank of Commerce 
- Punjab National Bank 
- RBL Bank 
- South Indian Bank 
- Standard Chartered Bank
- State Bank of India 
- Syndicate Bank 
- TJSB
- UCO Bank
- Union Bank of India 
- United Bank of India
- Vijaya Bank
- Yes Bank Ltd