Why Daak stopped using *99#

From version 1.5.0, Daak pays over UPI 123Pay on every SIM: Jio, Airtel, Vi and BSNL. The *99# option is gone. Here's why.

What went wrong

We tested *99# on real phones, and it wasn't reliable enough to trust with your money.

• On some phones it didn't work at all. On a Redmi phone, *99# wouldn't run.
• On others it worked badly. On a OnePlus phone, a payment often had to be entered twice, and sometimes nothing happened even after the right UPI PIN.

A payment app that sometimes makes you pay twice, or leaves you unsure whether money left your account, does more harm than good.

Why it happens

This isn't a bug Daak can fix. *99# depends on three things outside the app:

1. Your phone. The *99# menu is a pop-up drawn by the phone's own software, and every brand draws it differently. Some handle long menus badly or not at all.
2. Your carrier. The *99# gateway goes down often. Airtel can need two or three tries. On Vi and BSNL it's officially supported but mostly doesn't work.
3. A short time limit. A full *99# payment is several menu screens and takes about a minute. On a slow network the session times out partway. If that happens just after you enter your PIN, the bank may or may not have taken the payment, and nothing on the phone can tell.

The only way to make *99# behave better is an Android accessibility service that reads the pop-up and types into it for you. That would mean Daak reads your screen and handles your UPI PIN, and Daak promises never to do either.

Why 123Pay

UPI 123Pay is NPCI's offline UPI service. A 123Pay payment is an ordinary phone call to 080 4516 3666, so:

• it works on every phone, because every phone can make a call;
• it works on every carrier, including Jio, which never supported *99#;
• Daak already used it on Jio, and that flow is proven on real phones;
• you still type your UPI PIN into the call yourself. Daak never sees it.

What changes for you

• Payments go over a 123Pay call, up to ₹4,999 each, in whole rupees.
• Scan & pay works when the QR's UPI ID is a mobile number, like 98xxxxxx10@ybl. A UPI ID made of letters, like shop@okaxis, can't be paid over a call, which can only send numbers. Daak tells you and offers to pay the person's mobile number instead.
• Balance is checked over a 123Pay call too.
• First time on 123Pay? It needs a one-time sign-up on your SIM. Daak walks you through it before your first payment. Being set up for *99# doesn't count.
• Your payment history stays. Old payments still show *99# next to them.

Using an older version? Update to 1.5.0 from the download section to switch to 123Pay.