In a significant move towards bolstering the efficiency of digital transactions, the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) Governor, Shaktikanta Das, announced the inception of an ‘interoperable payment system’ aimed at Internet banking platforms, expected to be operational within this calendar year. This initiative is designed to accelerate the fund settlement process for merchants, ensuring swift and seamless financial exchanges.
Interoperability, the essence of this new system, ensures the seamless integration and exchange of data across diverse digital infrastructures, including banks, payment gateways, and merchants, thereby enhancing the connectivity and information flow within the digital payment ecosystem. The RBI has sanctioned the implementation of this innovative system to NPCI Bharat BillPay Ltd (NBBL), highlighting a significant stride towards improving transaction efficiency.
During the Digital Payments Awareness Week celebrations, Shaktikanta emphasized the vision of the RBI for 2025, which includes the establishment of an interoperable framework for Internet banking transactions. This move is not only aimed at fortifying user confidence in digital payments but also at advocating for a digital-first approach in financial transactions.
Shaktikanta’s address also shed light on the remarkable growth of Unified Payments Interface (UPI) transactions, which have seen a dramatic increase in both volume and value over the years, underlining UPI’s pivotal role in the expansion of digital payments in India. With UPI transactions constituting nearly 80% of all digital payment transactions in 2023, the system has introduced advanced features like offline payments through NFC (UPI Lite X), payments via feature phones (UPI 123Pay), and AI-based conversational payments (hello! UPI).
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This initiative is a part of the broader mission, ‘Har Payment Digital,’ which seeks to digitalize every payment transaction across the nation, emphasizing the collective effort required from various stakeholders including the industry, media, and payment system operators.
