PVR Cinemas, the largest cinema exhibition company in India, launched a Unified Payment Interface (UPI) for its 122 properties across the country.

The option will enable customers to make online payments via UPI in addition to net banking, wallets, and credit/debit cards.

"This will be the first large-scale roll-out of UPI by any cinema chain in India. All of pvrcinemas.com users will have access to making payments via UPI," the company said in a statement, reports PTI.

UPI is a unique payment solution built to empower customers to initiate payment requests through their smartphone. It provides a Virtual Payment Address (VPA), through which users can send and receive money on a two-factor authentication.

"Anyone with a smart phone and a bank account will be able to benefit from UPI for transacting money online. This is a major change for online commerce as UPI will allow us to reduce transaction costs and create a faster checkout experience," Kamal Gianchandani, Chief of Strategy at PVR Ltd told PTI.

Created by the National Payment Corporation of India (NPCI) with the support of the Reserve Bank of India and Indian Banks Association (IBA), financial experts believe UPI will boost the online payments industry and is a major step towards building a cashless society.

Goodreturns.in