Hyderabad: The Andhra Pradesh government has launched AP Purse, a new platform to help people in the state move to cashless payments using mobile wallets. Its tech-savvy chief minister Chandrababu Naidu says his team wants to make AP the first state in India to completely switch to digital transactions.

Here are five things to know about AP Purse

What is it

AP Purse is an Android app that compiles various mobile payment apps and tools. With this, the government hopes to create awareness and expand adoption of digital wallets, especially outside bigger urban areas.

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What is available

The government has tied up with 15 mobile wallets and payment gateway apps including Paytm, MobiKwik, PayUmoney, Freecharge, JioMoney, SBI’s Buddy, OlaMoney, Aitel Money, Vodafone m-pesa, Idea Money, Oxigen Wallet, Citrus, Icash and ItzCash.

How to use

Download the AP Purse app on Google Play Store. Register with your name and mobile number. The app provides access to install any of the 15 payment apps available on the platform. Using the payment apps, people can pay utility bills, property taxes, purchase goods and transfer money. Merchants can use the apps to accept cashless payments.

What’s in store

AP Purse also educates citizens and merchants on benefits of using cashless transactions and safety precautions to be taken while transacting online. Naidu says his government is working on a plan to give low-cost smartphones to people living below poverty-line to encourage mobile wallet usage.

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What about other states

The Telangana government too has indicated that it is going to launch an official mobile wallet soon to make it easier for people to transact with the government. “The states that go cashless earlier will stand to benefit more. We have no other option but to shift to online and mobile transactions," Telangana chief minister K Chandrasekhara Rao has said.

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