LAVA, an Indian manufacturer of mobile phones, is following the footsteps of other device makers that have launched fin-tech service. The company is joining the list as it has today announced its own digital platform in the market, known as LAVA Pay.
Interestingly, unlike other similar services, this new LAVA Pay is a non-internet digital payment solution which is meant for feature phones. The company says that the app will come pre-installed on its upcoming phones and can also be installed on existing ones by visiting company’s service centres.
It uses UPI for transactions and has a simple user interface where the user just need to input the mobile number of the receiver, the payment amount and then the UPI Pin to authenticate the transaction. Once done, both the receiver and the sender will get a notification confirming the same.
Tejinder Singh, Head of Product for LAVA claims that the LAVA Pay is the very first option for electronic monetary purchases without the demand of Internet connection. The app also allows users to check account balance directly within the app.
As said, the application does not need internet access to carry out transactions as it uses USSD service. The *99# is USSD-based banking service which was first launched in 2012 for MTNL and BSNL subscribers only but was later extended after NPCI launched the Unified Payments Interface.
With the launch of this application, LAVA is attempting to touch the 500 million Indians that still do not have accessibility to Internet and depend on offline financial for all their financial demands.
