6-Aug-2021: Know all about e-RUPI, the new digital payment instrument
What is e-RUPI and how it works ?
e-RUPI is basically a digital voucher which a beneficiary gets on his phone in the form of an SMS or QR code. It is a pre-paid voucher, which he/she can go and redeem it at any centre that accepts its.
For example, if the Government wants to cover a particular treatment of an employee in a specified hospital, it can issue an e-RUPI voucher for the determined amount through a partner bank. The employee will receive an SMS or a QR Code on his feature phone / smart phone. He/she can go to the specified hospital, avail of the services and pay through the e-RUPI voucher received on his phone.
Thus e-RUPI is a one-time contactless, cashless voucher-based mode of payment that helps users redeem the voucher without a card, digital payments app, or internet banking access.
e-RUPI should not be confused with Digital Currency which the Reserve Bank of India is contemplating. Instead e-RUPI is a person specific, even purpose specific digital voucher.
How is e-RUPI advantageous to the Consumer?
e-RUPI does not require the beneficiary to have a bank account, a major distinguishing feature as compared to other digital payment forms. It ensures an easy, contactless two-step redemption process that does not require sharing of personal details either.
Another advantage is that e-RUPI is operable on basic phones also, and hence it can be used by persons who do not own smart-phones or in places that lack internet connection.
What are the benefits of e-RUPI for the sponsors?
e-RUPI is expected to play a major role in strengthening Direct-Benefit Transfer and making it more transparent. Since, there is no need for physical issuance of vouchers, it will also lead to some cost savings as well.
What benefits accrue to the Service Providers?
Being a prepaid voucher, e-RUPI would assure real time payments to the service provider.
Who has developed the e-RUPI?
The National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI), which oversees the digital payments ecosystem in India, has launched e-RUPI, a voucher-based payments system to promote cashless transactions.
It has been developed in collaboration with the Department of Financial Services, Ministry of Health & Family Welfare and National Health Authority.
Which Banks issue e-RUPI?
NPCI has partnered with 11 banks for e-RUPI transactions. They are Axis Bank, Bank of Baroda, Canara Bank, HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank, Indian Bank, IndusInd Bank, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Punjab National Bank, State Bank of India and Union Bank of India.
The acquiring Apps are Bharat Pe, BHIM Baroda Merchant Pay, Pine Labs, PNB Merchant Pay and YoNo SBI Merchant Pay.
More banks and acquiring Apps are expected to join the e-RUPI initiative soon.
Where can e-RUPI be used now?
To begin with NPCI has tied up with more than 1,600 hospitals where e-RUPI can be redeemed.
Experts say, in the days to come the user base of e-RUPI is expected to widen, with even private sector using it to deliver employee benefits and MSMEs adopting it for Business To Business (B2B) transactions.
2-Aug-2021: PM launches digital payment solution e-RUPI
Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi launched digital payment solution e-RUPI, a person and purpose specific digital payment solution, today via video conference. e-RUPI is a cashless and contactless instrument for digital payment.
Addressing the event, the Prime Minister said that the eRUPI voucher is going to play a huge role in making DBT more effective in digital transactions in the country and will give a new dimension to digital governance. This will help everyone in targeted, transparent and leakage free delivery. He said e-RUPI is a symbol of how India is progressing by connecting people’s lives with technology. He also expressed happiness that this futuristic reform initiative has come at a time when the country is celebrating the Amrit Mahotsav on the 75th anniversary of independence.
He said in addition to the government, if any organization wants to help someone in their treatment, education or for any other work, then they will be able to give an eRUPI voucher instead of cash. This will ensure that the money given by him is used for the work for which the amount was given.
The Prime Minister said eRUPI is person as well as purpose specific. eRUPI will ensure that the money is being used for the purpose for which any help or any benefit is being provided.
The Prime Minister recalled that there was a time when technology was considered a domain of the rich people and there was no scope for technology in a poor country like India. He remembered when this government took technology as a mission, it was questioned by the political leaders and certain types of experts. He added that today the country has also denied the thinking of those people, and has proved them wrong. Today the thinking of the country is different, it is new. Today we are seeing technology as a tool to help the poor, a tool for their progress.
The Prime Minister noted how technology is bringing in transparency and integrity in transections and creating new opportunities and making them available to the poor. He mentioned that for reaching today’s unique product, foundation was prepared over the years by creating the JAM system which connected mobile and Aadhaar. Benefits of JAM took some time to be visible to people and we saw how we could help the needy during the lockdown period while other countries were struggling to help their people, said the Prime Minister. He noted that in India, more than seventeen and half lakh crore rupees have been transferred directly to the accounts of the people via Direct Benefit Transfer. More than three hundred schemes are using DBT. 90 crore Indian are being benefited in some way or the other through in areas like LPG, ration, medical treatment, scholarship, pension or wage disbursal. 1 lakh 35 thousand crore rupees have directly been transferred to farmers under PM Kisan Samman Nidhi, 85 thousand crore rupees for government purchase of wheat were also disbursed in this manner. “The biggest benefit of this all is that 1 lakh 78 thousand crore rupees were prevented from going to the wrong hands, '' he added.
The Prime Minister noted that development of digital transactions in India has empowered the poor and deprived, small businesses, farmers and tribal population. This can be felt in the record of 300 crore UPI transactions in the month of July amounting to 6 lakh crore rupees.
The Prime Minister said India is proving to the world that we are second to none in adopting technology and adapting to it. When it comes to innovations, use of technology in service delivery, he said that India has the ability to give global leadership alongside major countries of the world.
The Prime Minister said that the PM SVANidhi Yojana has helped more than 23 lakh street vendors in small towns and large cities of the country. During this pandemic period, about Rs 2300 crore has been disbursed to them.
The Prime Minister said the world is recognizing the impact of the work done in the last 6-7 years for digital infrastructure and digital transactions in the country. Especially in India, a huge base of fintech has been created which is not present even in developed countries, he added.