New Delhi, July 4 (IANS): Domestic smartphone maker Karbonn Mobiles on Tuesday announced its partnership with National Payments Corporation of India (NCPI) to become the first Indian smartphone brand to integrate BHIM (Bharat Interface for Money) app in its latest device 'K9 Kavach 4G' which is priced at Rs 5,290.

Once a user has registered a bank account with BHIM, and set a unique payment interface PIN for the bank account, their mobile number becomes their payment address. 

Users can then receive or transfer money to any bank using their mobile number and check their bank balance. 

With the launch of the BHIM-enabled smartphone, Karbonn Mobiles has taken a big step towards strengthening its service portfolio while contributing towards the 'Digital India' initiative and creating a less-cash economy, the company said in a statement.

"The partnership is an epitome of two 'Made in India' entities joining hands to enable digital Indians with smart telephones solutions. Our aim is to promote a cashless economy empowering and educating more and more people in tier 2,3 cities and rural areas about digital transactions and benefits," Pardeep Jain, Managing Director, Karbonn Mobiles, told reporters here.

The K9 Kavach 4G is powered with fingerprint sensors in securing other applications and access to phone.

"This strategic partnership is a significant step towards providing acceptance tools for facilitating digital payments in India," added A.P. Hota, Managing Director and CEO, NCPI.

The device comes in an all-plastic body with a 5-inch 720p screen and is powered by 1.25GHz quad-core processor with 1GB RAM and 8GB inbuilt storage which is expandable up to 32GB. 

The dual-SIM phone runs on the latest Android 7.0 (Nougat) operating system and supports 4G VoLTE connectivity.

The K9 Kavach is also equipped with a 5MP camera on both front and back and runs on 2,300mAh battery.