With cashless payments getting plenty of attention in the wake of the recent demonetisation exercise by the Government of India, one question that is being repeatedly asked is, “What about those who don’t have smartphones?”

While it is true that most of the current cashless transaction platforms, like digital wallets and the Universal Payment Interface (UPI) launched by the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI), require a smartphone with an internet connection to carry out transactions, the NPCI also has a little-known system in place to carry out transactions with the most basic of phones.

Meet NUUP

The National Unified USSD Platform (NUUP), set up by the NPCI, provides users access to their bank accounts. It allows them to perform banking tasks like checking the account balance, generating a mini-statement and, most importantly, transferring money to other accounts.

The NUUP uses a frequently used service called Unstructured Supplementary Service Data, or USSD, that is available to all GSM mobile phones. The USSD is commonly used by mobile phone users for basic functions like checking the phone balance, and even for social networking. It was launched on 28 August 2014 by Prime Minister Narendra Modi as part of the Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana.

The NUUP system involves a simple process. The user dials *99# on the mobile phone to access the banking menu. The only requirement is that the user should have connected their phone number to their bank account (either online or at an ATM).

On dialling *99# on the phone, the user has to enter either the first four digits of their bank’s IFSC code or the Short Code (A list of the three-letter short codes is available on the NPCI website.) to choose a bank account associated with the phone number. The user can then proceed with their transaction.

The service is functional around the clock, and even on holidays. Some features are available in 12 different languages. The NPCI has also released a list of USSD numbers to dial for different languages. Different telecom operators charge different amounts for using the NUUP; the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India having set a maximum limit of Rs 1.50 per transaction.

Here’s a video released by the NPCI on how the *99# service works: