Layoff the Bhim App (For Now)

BHIM app the UPI payment app introduced by the Indian PM is just another UPI app.

There are far too many competitors of BHIM such ICICI UPI app, HDFC UPI app, Axis Pay, PhonePe, SBI Pay etc.

However, BHIM was hailed as the most secure

“BHIM uses three-factor authentication and hence, is relatively more secure from a consumer point of view. It also combines the convenience of a mobile wallet with the security of net banking,” he said.

When a user opens BHIM application for the first time, the application automatically binds itself to their device ID and phone number — both of which are unique. This means that the same UPI cannot be used from two phones. The BHIM application will also not work on a phone which doesn’t have a SIM card.

“This uniquely identifies not just the device but the active number. If there is some fraud…you have an operational number plus the device ID, which in some cases can be masked, but a combination of both makes it easy to track the cell phone and law enforcement agencies can physically trace the person, if needed.” said a security firm researcher.

“The third factor is the UPI PIN, set by the user, which will be required for every transaction through the application.” No user would be able to do transactions without the UPI PIN, he said.



However after few days after the release of the app, lot of people are complaining about the app being sluggish.

There are other security concerns of the app such as,

• The back button is not restricted and you can move back and forth the payment page.
• The app is prone to SQL injection attacks.
• The app is slow, (in fairness so are majority of the UPI apps)

So it is definitely worth to wait before you jump onto BHIM. The app makers stated that they are working on the issues and will release an update at the earliest.