No, it’s not a name some government official came up with because it sounds mythological and will appeal to a God fearing nation. Instead, ‘BHIM’ stands for ‘Bharat Interface For Money’. Launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi yesterday as a gift to the nation for the new year, the e-money app is another tool the government hopes will help weed out financial crimes in the nation.
The app is directly linked to your bank account, unlike other mobile payment apps where one has to recharge the e-wallet every time it dries out. For now, only one of your bank accounts can be linked to the app, which can then be used to make payments, transfers and also receive money. It uses the United Payment Interface, through which all major banks in India are now connected. However, there is a limit of Rs 10,000 per transaction and a daily cap of Rs 20,000 has been set for all transactions. It could be altered, once the current situation stabilizes and the government’s goal to make the economy largely cashless has been achieved.
Currently all the big banks have been listed on the app, with the exception of a few private players. However, we expect that list to be updated shortly.