Tag: upi

UPI registers robust growth in August

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Digital payments continued to grow at a robust pace and touched a new record in August with further easing of lockdown restrictions by many States and resumption of economic activities.

Unified Payments Interface registered 355 crore transactions worth ₹6.39 lakh crore in August 2021, according to data released by the National Payments Corporation of India on Wednesday. Transactions on the UPI platform had breached the ₹6 lakh crore-mark in July to amount to ₹6.06 lakh crore.

The Immediate Payment Service (IMPS) also witnessed a sharp growth in transactions. The number of transactions on the IMPS platform rose to 37.79 crore in August and valued at ₹3.18 lakh crore. It had processed 34.97 crore transactions amounting to ₹3.09 lakh crore in July.

ALSO READ e-RUPI could be bigger than UPI, say experts

FASTag collection up

Payments on NETC FASTag crossed 20 crore in terms of volume in August to 20.12 crore. In value terms, it amounted to ₹3,076.56 crore. In contrast, 19.23 crore transactions worth ₹2,976.39 crore were processed on NETC FASTag in July.

Aadhar Enabled PaymentSystem (AePS) transactions, too, scaled the 10-crore transaction mark last month. As many as 10.84 crore payments worth ₹27,353.87 crore took place through AePS in August compared to 8.88 crore transactions totalling ₹23,447.11 crore in July.

The BharatBill Pay platform registered 5.88 crore payments totalling ₹10,307.4 crore in August versus 5.1 crore transactions amounting to ₹9,612.87 crore in July.

ALSO READ UPI sets new record in July

“We believe that continued opening of the economy and markets coupled with the upcoming festive season would enable spends to grow at a better pace over the medium term ,” Motilal Oswal had said in its Digital Payments Tracker report for July that looked at card and UPI spending.

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Indian banks facilitate cryptocurrency transactions amid a fresh boom, BFSI News, ET BFSI

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As Indians flock to the cryptocurrency market with renewed enthusiasm, banks are joining the party.

They are again allowing the purchase of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies through their channels, easing curbs that they had imposed on such services.

Lenders including HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank and Axis Bank are allowing transactions in virtual currencies through the UPI platform.

Crypto exchange WazirX has listed the net banking facilities of Punjab National Bank, Union Bank of India, IDBI, IDFC First Bank, Federal Bank and Deutsche Bank to make payments for crypto purchases.

According to crypto exchanges, more banks are now warming up to them and several channels are available for customers to buy crypto assets.

The change in stance happened after the Reserve Bank of India told banks that they no longer can use the regulator’s 2018 circular prohibiting dealings in virtual currencies, as the direction has been struck down by the Supreme Court, said people in the know.

Banks have also reopened accounts with crypto exchanges after conducting due diligence, in absence of any specific regulation. This comes at a time when Indians are flocking back to cryptocurrencies.

Reluctant banks

As early as June banks were sending official notices to many customers warning them of curbs, including permanent closure of accounts.

Lenders were asking customers to clarify the nature of transactions and warning credit card users that transactions of virtual currency will lead to suspension/cancellation of card.

While trading in cryptocurrency is not illegal as per existing Indian laws, individual institutions can enforce their terms based on their risk assessment.

A grey area

Despite the boom, cryptocurrencies are in a grey area in India, with the Reserve Bank hostile towards it and the government unsure about its prospects.

There is no legislation or regulatory code yet to govern the crypto ecosystem, leading to confusion among customers, businesses and financial institutions providing banking services.

In 2018, the Reserve Bank of India barred financial institutions from supporting crypto transactions, which the Supreme Court overturned in 2020. The government has circulated a draft bill outlawing all cryptocurrency activities, which has been under discussion since 2019.

Last month, the RBI asked banks not to cite its 2018 circular and clarified that banks can do their own KYC for crypto clients. With this, banks are now reassessing the situation, but several banks currently lack the technical expertise to make a supervisory assessment on these transactions.



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An Indian Millennial opens a bank account every 30 seconds says Niyo, BFSI News, ET BFSI

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The gaining popularity of digital banking services among millennials can be witnessed from the fact that over 82% customers of NiyoX are below 35 years of age. The convenience and accessibility provided by such products holds increased importance among this population thus making them the early adopters.

Niyo is seeing tremendous traction among the millennial population with one NiyoX digital savings account being opened every 30 seconds. This has led to the digital banking fintech on-boarding 500,000 customers within 150 days of its launch.

“At Niyo we are committed to making banking simple while adding value to the users are every step i.e. On-boarding, transactions, fund transfers, chat besides our popular 007 offering. This is just the beginning as we add more features and products to delight our users. Half a million accounts is a humbling milestone and motivates us to work harder to ensure great banking experience for all.” said, Vinay Bagri, Co-founder, CEO, Niyo.

Since its launch, NiyoX has seen more than one crore transactions. With more than 50% of the transactions on the app being done via UPI, highlights the growing demand of the payment option among the digitally-savvy millennials. According to NiyoX, the top categories where customers spend the most include food delivery, ecommerce and entertainment.

The top 5 cities with maximum customer base for NiyoX are Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Hyderabad and Bangalore. 35% of the customers on-boarded NiyoX for its industry-high 7%* p.a. interest rate feature, followed by 25% customers who were driven by the 2-in-1 account facility as well as the ease of banking provided by the platform.

“The demand for a safer, better and faster banking experience is now more than ever and we at Niyo are trying to fulfil just that. We have tried to create a power-packed product with multiple features to provide a seamless banking experience to our customers. Our product lives up to the promise of instant digital on boarding with customers being on-boarded as fast as under 100 seconds,” adds, Virender Bisht, Co-founder, CTO Niyo,

20% of the millennial customers joined the platform for its 0% Commission on mutual funds and zero balance savings account features.



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Mashreq Bank, NPCI International partner to offer UPI in the UAE

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NPCI International Payments Ltd (NIPL) has partnered with Mashreq to offer acceptance of its mobile-based real-time payment system, Unified Payments Interface (UPI), in the UAE.

“This partnership will enable over two million Indians who travel to UAE for business or leisure purposes every year to pay for their purchases seamlessly using UPI-based mobile applications across shops and merchant stores in the UAE,” said a joint statement on Friday.

The tie-up is expected to boost the digital payment ecosystem in the UAE and will prove to be a major stepping stone for the wider reach of UPI in the international markets, it further said.

“We are excited about our partnership with Mashreq Bank, which will enable consumers from India transact seamlessly using NPCI’s world-renowned UPI platform and deliver seamless user experience,” said Ritesh Shukla, Chief Executive Officer, NIPL.

In July, NIPL and Royal Monetary Authority RMA of Bhutan had partnered to enable and implement BHIM UPI QR-based payments in Bhutan.

“Given the position of UAE as an international commerce and tourism hub, retail merchants in the Emirates always enable the latest payment methods that are expected by our international clients,” said Kartik Taneja, EVP, Head of Payments Mashreq Bank.

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NPCI global arm ties up with Mashreq Bank for UPI payments in UAE, BFSI News, ET BFSI

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NPCI‘s global arm NPCI International Payments Ltd (NIPL) has partnered with UAE-based Mashreq Bank to provide its mobile-based real-time payment system UPI in the gulf nation. This strategic partnership will be a significant game-changer in the digital payment ecosystem in the UAE, a release said on Friday.

With this tie-up, more than 2 million (20 lakh) Indians travelling to the UAE are expected to benefit from Unified Payments Interface (UPI) enabled mobile applications to pay for their purchases in a shop or merchant establishment across the country.

Developed by National Payments Corporation of India, UPI facilitates inter-bank transactions.

Mashreq said the tie-up is very timely with growing appetite for mobile-based payments and the bank has witnessed 20 per cent month-on-month growth in pick-up rate.

The implementation of UPI also opens a whole new world of opportunities for enterprises in the UAE and allows them to compete with much larger retailers, it said.

The partnership with Mashreq Bank will enable consumers from India to transact seamlessly using NPCI’s world-renowned UPI platform and deliver a seamless user experience, said Ritesh Shukla, Chief Executive Officer, NIPL.

UPI is one of the most successful real-time payments technology globally that offers secure and simple person to person (P2P) and person to merchant (P2M) transactions.

In 2020, UPI allowed transactions worth USD 457 billion, which is equivalent to approximately 15 per cent of India’s GDP.



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ICICI Prudential Life ties up with NPCI for UPI Autopay

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ICICI Prudential Life Insurance has tied up with the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) to provide a Unified Payments Interface Autopay facility to its customers.

“This tie-up is another step in the company’s digitalisation journey, which provides customers with a hassle-free and seamless experience across the policy lifecycle,” it said in a statement.

While purchasing a life insurance policy, customers can link their bank accounts with UPI Autopay for payment of premium.

The UPI Autopay e-mandate can be activated by customers by using their smartphones to make regular renewal premium payments in a paperless format.

“At a time when social distancing is the order of the day, the UPI payment mode is fast becoming a preferred route of payment due to the contactless and frictionless experience it provides. Customers can set up the e-mandate facility to make their regular renewal premium payments and ensure financial security for self and their families,” said Ashish Rao, Chief, Customer Experience and Operations, ICICI Prudential Life Insurance.

Customers can enable the UPI Auotpay feature on their UPI apps. Alternatively, it can be enabled for banks through an e-mandate.

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e-RUPI could be bigger than UPI, say experts

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The government’s latest digital payments offering, e-RUPI, permits offline transactions which can be carried out on feature phones, promoting its adoption in rural and remote areas as well.

This could potentially lead to large-scale adoption of the payment solution as even the popular Unified Payments Interface (UPI), preferred in urban and semi urban areas, requires internet connectivity and a smart phone.

The beneficiary does not even require a bank account or a digital app to use the voucher.

Also see: Explained | What is e-RUPI?

“The e-RUPI voucher will be shared with the beneficiary through an SMS or QR code. This will enable its use in rural and remote areas as well where internet connectivity can be a challenge. Since it is in the form of an SMS, it can be used by people who do not have a smart phone,” said Rajesh Mirjankar, Managing Director and CEO, Infrasoft Technologies.

It will also ensure targeted delivery of funds and help measure the social impact of subsidies, he added.

Infrasoft Technologies is working with two of the 11 banks offering e-RUPI and is set to work with two more banks in the coming days.

“It will give a new dimension to digital transactions and as it can be redeemed without a card or internet banking access at the service provider. The best part of the new payment medium is it can be controlled. The issuer can ensure that the money is being spent for the allocated purpose and can track the redemption of the voucher,” said Mandar Agashe, Founder and MD, Sarvatra Technologies.

Corporates and banks have also expressed an interest in using e-RUPI vouchers for their own products and offerings, for which discussions are understood to have been initiated with the National Payments Corporation of India.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched e-RUPI, a person and purpose specific digital payment solution, on August 2. A one time payment mechanism, users will be able to redeem the voucher without a card, digital payments app or internet banking access, at merchants accepting e-RUPI.

At present, 11 banks are live with this solution along with over 1,600 hospitals. More banks are expected to go live soon.

It can currently be used for schemes related to the health ministry, but more direct benefit transfer schemes are expected to be included in coming months.

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What is e-RUPI and how does it work?, BFSI News, ET BFSI

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-By Tarika Sethia

What is e-RUPI?

The new digital product, e-RUPI is a paperless one-time payment system and a person and purpose-specific digital product.

The contactless e-RUPI is a secure way of transacting as it keeps the beneficiary’s information confidential and can also be tracked by the issuer. It is authorised via a verification code and does not require handling of cash due to its wholly digital and prepaid mode. Additionally, the beneficiary is not required to have a bank account or a digital payment app thus, being a catalyst in boosting financial inclusion in the country.

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.

How can we redeem e-RUPI?

e-RUPI is a prepaid voucher that can be redeemed without a debit or a credit card, digital payments app or internet banking services. It is a QR based or SMS string-based digital voucher that is delivered to the mobile phones of the beneficiaries by the government or by a selected few organisations.

The user can give an e-RUPI voucher instead of cash at the counters of merchants accepting e-RUPI. Covid-19 vaccine jabs can also be received via these newly launched vouchers. Moreover, a variety of donations can be made by this prepaid digital voucher with the assurance of a targeted, transparent and leakage-free transaction. Even the private sector can leverage these e-vouchers as part of their employee benefit and corporate social responsibility programmes.

The pilot avenue of e-RUPI is the health sector where payments via these electronic vouchers will be accepted. The product will gradually move into other segments.

Who is the architect of e-RUPI?

This digital innovation was brought to the fore by the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI). It was launched in collaboration with the Department of Financial Services (DFS), National Health Authority (NHA), Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW), and other partner banks.

Which banks have gone live with e-RUPI?

From Axis Bank to ICICI, from Bank of Baroda to Punjab National Bank, in total 11 banks are currently in sync with the e-RUPI product. Bharat Pe, BHIM Baroda Merchant Pay, HDFC Business App, PNB Merchant Pay and YONO SBI Merchant are the acquiring apps dealing with the NPCI’s recent launch.

How is e-RUPI different from UPI?

The Unified Payments Interface (UPI) is a direct bank-to-bank transfer that requires the presence of a bank account or a digital payments app while e-RUPI works independent of bank accounts.

What is e-RUPI and how does it work?

Under UPI payments, there is no way of tracking the money paid, however, e-RUPI facilitates payment tracking for the issuer.

NPCI’s data reveals that UPI experiences a fail rate or technical decline rate (TD) of 1.43% which is an improvement from the high that it had reached of 3.4% in December 2020. In another move, e-RUPI is designed with a pre-recorded amount thus, leading to a much smaller transaction failure rate. An amount is already stored in the voucher within which the payment is made.



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PM Narendra Modi, BFSI News, ET BFSI

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The latest addition to India’s growing catalogue of digital payments solutions, voucher-based digital payment mode e-RUPI, will create a transparent and efficient welfare delivery mechanism, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said in the launch address of e-RUPI on Monday.

The purpose specific digital payment solution, developed by the National Payments Corporation of India in partnership with several government agencies, over its interoperable Unified Payments Interface (UPI) architecture will first be launched for covid vaccine dispensation at private hospitals, PM Modi said.

He added that the use cases for e-RUPI in subsequent years can be expanded from the delivery of various welfare subsidies linked to education, ration, healthcare, and fertilisers as well to relief efforts during natural calamities by different government, non-profit and corporate entities. It can also help in donations and scholarship programs for underprivileged sections of the society, Modi added.

“The launch of e-RUPI for digital transactions and Direct Benefit Transfers is a big step towards ensuring a more effective, transparent and leakage free welfare delivery system in India,” said PM Modi. “With this system, any government or non-government agency can avoid the use of cash to create a purpose specific voucher to intended beneficiaries. This will ensure that the funds will be utilised for its original purpose,” he added.

The payment system has been created by NPCI in association with the Department of Financial Services, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare and the National Health Authority. In essence e-RUPI is a digital payments mode which will be in the form of SMS strings or a Quick Response (QR) code delivered directly to beneficiaries of the intended welfare scheme without any intermediary network.

The pilot for e-RUPI will test its applications for free vaccine delivery, with broad scope also set to soon cover NHA’s PMJAY payouts as well as other digitised stamps based use cases for food delivery, fertilisers, healthcare benefits as well as scholarships and ration payments.

“Technology is a tool for social empowerment and transparency,” PM Modi said in the address. “During the pandemic, India has set an example with its Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) architecture on effective delivery of benefits to the poor, when many countries struggled to find a solution.”

PM Modi also hailed India’s fintech and startup sectors for creating positive solutions towards social upliftment. Citing the UPI’s record volume in July where the channel reported an all-time high 324 crore transactions worth Rs 6.06 lakh crore, Modi said that indigenous payment solutions such as UPI, RuPay and Fastag have helped India lead digital payments innovations.

Now, the launch of e-RUPI marks the first issuance of a digital voucher in India that can be a purpose-specific substitute for bank notes, debit cards or biometric modes of payments. e-RUPI addresses main challenges with bank account based direct transactions such as lack of transparency on end-use, high authentication failure rates, inactive bank accounts as well as lack of cash out points in rural India, according to experts.

Earlier this month, the Reserve Bank of India deputy governor T Rabi Sankar in a speech also hinted that the central bank is working towards first of its kind Indian Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) – an Indian sovereign cryptocurrency.

However, e-RUPI would be different from a CBDC in that it won’t be interchangeable with cash or currency and can be redeemed only for the specific use case it has been created. NPCI and select banks – both public and private sector – onboarded as issuing entities will take payment orders from corporate or government agencies which will include the details of persons and the purpose for which payments will be booked. The authentication of the person can happen through the registered mobile number of intended beneficiaries.

The prepaid digital stamp is set to be accepted at enabled centres – first for vaccinations – without a mobile app or internet banking or any other physical interface.



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

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“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.



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