Mumbai: The Payments Council of India [PCI], the largest industry body for digital payments ecosystem in India welcomed the Statement on Developmental and Regulatory Policies released by the Reserve Bank of India [RBI], yesterday. The Statement sets out various developmental and regulatory policy measures on liquidity management and support to targeted sectors; regulation and supervision; debt management; payment and settlement systems; financial Inclusion; and external commercial borrowings. PCI has expressed its contentment with the emphasis RBI has put upon the interoperability of Acceptance Infrastructure and the incentives it has provided for the mandated interoperability of Pre-Paid Instruments [PPIs] in its statement.
The industry body which has major non-bank PPI issuers as its members suggested that proposing to increase the limit of outstanding balance in PPIs from the current level of ₹1 lakh to ₹2 lakh will support the migration of PPIs into full KYC PPIs and therefore interoperability. The industry body added that this will further increase the penetration of digital payments in the country specially the Tier-3 to Tier-6 centres. In its statement, RBI has also permitted cash withdrawal facility from the full KYC PPIs issued by non-bank entities. This was currently limited to only PPIs issued by banks, but with the mandated interoperability and cash withdrawal service permitted for non bank issued PPIs, it will be a major confidence booster to such digital transactions instruments. PCI has welcomed these forthcoming statements by the RBI and has indicated a bright way forward for digital payments instruments in the country.
Mr. Mahendra Nerurkar, Director and CEO, Amazon Pay India and Co-Chair, PPI Committee, PCI welcomed RBI’s statements and said “We would like to thank the RBI on it’s positive outlook to aid financial inclusion for customers in India. Permitting non-bank issued PPIs to offer cash withdrawal, and increasing the limit of full KYC PPI wallets, will greatly make digital payments more convenient and spur adoption of PPIs.”
Mr. Abhishek Sinha, Co-Founder, Eko India Financial Services and Co-Chair, PPI Committee, PCI, elaborated on the benefits of the statements of the RBI and expressed “We welcome the progressive announcement by RBI to increase PPI wallet limit to INR 2L and allow cash withdrawals from full KYC wallet. This is a strong signal of confidence on the potential of the wallet and it creates a level playing field for PPI operators”
The RBI’s Statements on the support to the digital payments acceptance devices and its focus on their interoperability has provided a moral boost to the digital payments industry in the country. Digital Payments are a step forward to create a financially inclusive society in the country and PCI has been instrumental to lead such varied discussions with the government with a vision to promote a cashless payments ecosystem in the country.
