National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) has received the final nod from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to operate as the Bharat Bill Payment Central Unit (BBPCU) and functionalise the Bharat Bill Payment System (BBPS).
Reportedly, 8 BBPS operating units received its in-principle approval from RBI on August 31, 2016 and participated in a pilot project.
For running as a pilot, streamlining the technology and business processes, the umbrella organisation for all retail payments system in the country, finally received clearance nod from the regulator.
“There is a specific direction from RBI to operate the Central Unit as a Strategic Business Unit of NPCI. Nearly 45 crore bills comprising electricity, telecom, DTH, water, and gas are permitted under BBPS. This initiative will provide a major push to digital payments as it is a big step forward in formalising the bill payment system in the country,” said A. P. Hota, MD & CEO, NPCI.
As per official statistics, the total number of Bharat Bill Payment Operating Units (BBPOU) certified by NPCI is 24. The certified units include three public sector banks (Bank of Baroda, Union Bank of India and Indian Overseas Bank), 10 private banks, five cooperative banks and six non-bank biller aggregators.
At present, 42 large billers in five utility sectors are on board. Major public sector banks, including State Bank of India (SBI), are still under certification.
“The real impact would be visible only when SBI joins,” added Hota.
According to NPCI, the bulk of transactions through BBPS are towards payment of electricity bills.The contribution from the power sector stands at nearly 18 crore bills every month, out of which only 10 per cent of the transactions is digital.
The Bharat Bill Payment System (BBPS) is system conceptualised by RBI and driven by National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI). It is a one-stop platform for payment of all bills, enabling an interoperable and accessible “Anytime Anywhere” bill payment service to customers across the country with certainty, reliability, and safety of transactions.
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