The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology is working on a plan to make the Bharat Interface for Money app, or BHIM, developed by National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI), the single point for all mobile payments, Financial Express has reported.

To enable a nationwide seamless network, NPCI is working on integrating the Bharat QR code (two-dimensional barcode) with BHIM app. This plan also includes handsets coming pre-loaded with the application.

The application will accept all modes of digital payments, including those through mobile wallets. It is expected to have almost negligible transaction cost. It will enable payment of utility bills, GST bills, public transport, etc.

“NPCI is developing a common merchant app for BHIM and is working on integrating it for utility payments like electricity and water bills. It is being developed as a full functionality app and will support Bharat QR code. This will enable it to be used for utility bill payments, mobile wallet recharges etc. The government has also advised banks to re-brand their UPI apps as BHIM (Bank Name) app. This exercise will create a seamless network with a single app and a QR code for mobile transactions,” the daily quoted a source as saying.

According to the report, the ministry is planning to involve private partners to drive rapid adoption. Players such as Uber, Ola, Reliance Retail, Amazon, Flipkart and Big Bazaar will be asked to promote the app for payments on their platform.

If successful, the new initiative is bound to challenge the dominance of mobile wallets such as Paytm, Freecharge, and others.