PM Narendra Modi launches e-RUPI, BFSI News, ET BFSI

“India has moved forward with a futuristic innovation today. e-RUPI vouchers will play a big role in strengthening Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) and raise digital penetration in the country. Targeted, transparent and leakage-free delivery via e-RUPI will be beneficial to all.”

e-RUPI, this real-time and paperless service was launched today at 4:30 p.m. by PM Narendra Modi via video conferencing. Developed by the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) on its UPI platform, e-RUPI is a QR code or SMS string-based e-Voucher, which is delivered to the mobile of the beneficiaries.

“e-RUPI is a person and purpose-specific digital payment solution.” said PM Modi at the conference.

Launched in collaboration with the Department of Financial Services, Ministry of Health & Family Welfare and National Health Authority, the users of this seamless one-time payment mechanism will be able to redeem the voucher without a card, digital payments app or internet banking access, at the service provider. The e-RUPI vouchers can also be used to make the payment for COVID-19 vaccine shots.

e-RUPI connects the sponsors of the services with the beneficiaries and service providers in a digital manner without the requirement of any physical interface. It also ensures that the payment to the service provider is made only after the transaction is completed. Being pre-paid in nature, it assures timely payment to the service provider without the involvement of any intermediary.

Digital payments recorded a growth of 30.19 per cent during the year ended March 2021, reflecting the adoption and deepening of cashless transactions in the country, RBI data showed. India has grown copiously in the digital arena after the introduction of the Unified Payments Interface (UPI) in 2016. UPI transaction volumes surged 43.2% in the first quarter of the last fiscal, 98.5% in the second quarter, 104.6% in the third and 112.5% in the fourth quarter.