RuPay: With this RBI initiative, India gets ready for a cashless revolution


The Reserve Bank of India deserves to be commended for the initiative it has taken to launch RuPay, an indigenous, cheaper alternative to the card-based payment systems such as Visa, MasterCard and American Express. It got local banks to promote a not-for-profit National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI), the author of RuPay, which offers the same services offered by Visa and MasterCard, but at a much cheaper cost.

RuPay will compete with Visa and MasterCard in terms of cost and quality of service, and it is only natural to expect the incumbents also to reduce their rates. It is imperative for India to create a low-cost electronic payment system if the ongoing endeavour to overhaul the existing system of welfare payments and subsidies is to succeed. The unique identity project will deliver a unique numerical tag for every Indian resident, which can then be used to create unique electronic bank accounts.

Transferring welfare and other payments from government treasuries directly to beneficiary accounts would be possible. Thereafter, if the beneficiary can use electronic cards to spend the money in his account, it would remove one more layer of administrative mediation with its potential for corruption and leakage. But, for tens of millions of rural people to swipe electronic cards in rural shopping outlets, ubiquitous telecom connectivity and an ultra low-cost payments' system are essential.......Read More
 
 

Source: Economic Times


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