Updated, March 4, 2024. 8.14 PM.
An interoperable payment system for internet banking transactions, as envisaged in RBI’s Payments Vision 2025 is likely to be launched this year. Addressing an event in Mumbai to mark Digital Payments Awareness Week, RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das today said that the necessary approvals have been given to NPCI Bharat BillPay Limited, adding that the system will facilitate quicker settlement of funds for merchants.
Stating that Internet Banking is a preferred channel for payments like income tax, insurance premiums, mutual fund payments, e-commerce, etc, Mr. Das said currently such transactions processed through Payment Aggregators are not interoperable leading to delays in the actual receipt of payments by merchants and settlement risks. He added that the measure will further boost the confidence of users in digital payments.
Highlighting that India accounts for nearly 46 percent of the world’s digital transactions, Mr. Das said retail digital payments have increased by over 90 percent from 162 crore transactions in FY 2012-13 to over 14,726 crore transactions in 2023-24 (till February 2024).
Talking about India’s flagship payment system, the UPI, the RBI Governor said the share of UPI in digital payments has reached close to 80 percent in 2023. Among the most talked about payment systems across the world for having a user friendly interface and facilitating QR code-based payments, Mr. Das said UPI has evolved to include advanced functionalities such as offline payments. Accordingly, UPI transactions have increased from 43 crore in 2017 to eleven thousand and 761 crore in 2023.
Mr. Das further informed that 6.65 crore new UPI users have been added to the system since the start of the “Har Payment Digital” mission in March 2023 till 31st January 2024. He said the growth has been aided by additional deployment of over 1.2 crore digital payment touchpoints.
Emphasising that the trust in digital payments is built on the pillars of transparency, ease of use and security, the RBI Governor said awareness programmes are being held to reach out and empower every individual on how to navigate this digital payments landscape with confidence and ease.