If you are looking for a way to transfer money between your bank accounts or would like to send money to someone, Then UPI is one of the best options. But this might not be possible if you don’t have an Internet connection right? Well in this article I’m going to show you how to transfer money using UPI without internet connection.

Introduction :

UPI stands for Unified Payment Interface (UPI). It allows the transfer of money from one bank account to another instantly via one’s mobile phone. Payments can be made via an app on mobile devices only.

Along with the online mode, UPI is also available for non-Internet-based mobile devices (smartphones as well as basic phones) in the form of a dialing option, *99# which is known as USSD 2.0, So with this option, you can send money using UPI without internet too.

Let’s see what are the requirements that are needed for using UPI…

What you need to use UPI ?

Some of the commonly used apps offering payments via the UPI method are BHIM, which is developed by NPCI, and there are some private players as well such as Paytm, PhonePe, Google Pay, Amazon Pay, etc.

To use UPI, You must have a bank account with a member bank(State Bank of India (SBI), HDFC Bank, and ICICI Bank,….), and also your bank must allow you to use the UPI facility, Along with this, your mobile number must be registered with your bank account for purpose of verification.

Key services offered under *99#

According to the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI), the following are the key services offered under the *99# service.

Sending & Receiving Money

Balance Enquiry
Setting / Changing UPI PIN

Currently, *99# service is offered by 41 leading banks & all GSM service providers and can be accessed in 12 different languages including Hindi & English.

Features of *99# service

Supports menu-based applications that are easy to use.
Does not require data connectivity (works on signaling channel) which makes it high availability service

Round-the-clock availability (works even on holidays)

Do keep in mind that you will be charged a nominal fee for using this service by the Telecomm service provider — it is usually Rs 0.5 per transaction for using the *99# service. The maximum charges have been set by TRAI at Rs 1.5 per transaction.

Now, Let’s see how to register for *99# service…

How to register for *99#

Step 1: Dial *99# from your registered mobile number

Step 2: Enter your bank name(Example: HDFC, ICICI…) or IFSC Code

Step 3: Now, Enter the last 6 digits of your debit card number along with the expiry date as shown in the below screenshot ( Example: AAAAAA MMYY where 6 A’s represents the last 6 digits of your debit card number and MMYY represents expiry month & year.

Note: Don’t forget to give space between the debit card number and expiry date.

Step 4: Then, Create New UPI PIN and confirm the same by typing again.

upi payment without internet — Enter New UPI PIN

After completing the above steps, You will get a message as shown below screenshot which represents you have registered successfully for the *99# service.

Congratulations, Now You can send money using UPI without internet connection through a smartphone or basic phone by using the *99# option.

Now let’s see how to do UPI payments without internet connection

Steps for Sending Money using UPI without internet:

Step 1: Dial *99# from your registered mobile number

Step 2: The screen with options will appear. Dial 1 to select “Send Money” and click on SEND

Step 3: To send money, dial one of the options below :

1 for mobile number
3 for UPI ID

4 for saved beneficiaries.
5 for IFSC, Account Number

If you want to transfer money using the person’s UPI ID, Then dial 3.

Step 4: Next step is to enter the UPI ID of a person(Who Needs to Recieve Money)

Step 5: Next step is to enter the amount you want to transfer, Here I am transferring 5 Rupees for testing purposes.

Step 6: Here, It is asking remarks you can skip this by giving 1 or you can type a message like No Internet…

Step 7: Now, It is asking you to enter your UPI PIN (set at the time of the registration process mentioned above).

Step 8: Now, It is asking you to enter your UPI PIN for your Bank Account(Example: SBI, HDFC, ICICI…)

Step 9: Up on successful transfer of money you will get this message on your phone.

You will also get an SMS informing you about the transaction.

Congratulations! You successfully sent money to your friend using UPI even though you don’t have an internet connection.

If you have any questions or suggestions, please feel free to leave a comment below.

Financial, Non-Financial and Value Added Services offered through *99# service :

Financial Services	Non-Financial Services	Value Added Services
Sending Money using Mobile No	Account Balance	Aadhaar linking Status
Sending Money using UPI ID	Set UPI PIN	PMJDY A/C Overdraft Status
Sending Money using Aadhaar No.	Change UPI PIN
Sending Money using Account No. + IFSC	Last 5 transactions
Requesting Money using UPI ID / Mobile No.