The government, in collaboration with telecom and IT industry, has launched a toll-free helpline – 14444 – to address consumer queries on digital payments.
The helpline will address questions regarding various platforms, including the newly-launched Bharat Interface for Money (BHIM), e-Wallets, Aadhaar-enabled payment system and USSD.
According to PTI, Telecom Secretary J S Deepak said that the helpline ‘14444’ is available in North as well as Eastern part of the country in English and Hindi and will soon be extended pan India, and in other languages.
The helpline has been launched jointly by Department of Telecom in collaboration with software association NASSCOM, telecom industry as well as the IT industry, officials said.
The cost of the project is initially being borne by the industry. After a few weeks, the government is likely to take a decision on financial support for the initiative after taking into account the emerging call traffic patterns.
For now, the bandwidth is being provided by private sector telecom companies and call centre infrastructure is being provided by the IT-BPO industry, sources said.
The helpline is aimed at consumers who want to start using USSD, UPI, BHIM, or any digital payment platform and need assistance to do so, or have certain queries.
Such consumers can call up the helpline, which is an interactive voice response system, and in case of specific queries, can also choose to speak to an agent.
