On Wednesday, the RBI decided to include a feature in the UPI platform to aid payments where goods and services are delivered laterally, such as e-commerce purchases, hotel bookings or investments in securities.
With the help of the latest feature, ‘single-block-and-multiple debits’ on the Unified Payment Interface (UPI) platform, customers are facilitated with more trust while carrying out such transactions.
After announcing the bi-monthly policy review, RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das said, “It has been decided to make the introduction of a single-block-and-multiple-debits functionality in UPI, which will significantly enhance the ease of transferring the payments in e-commerce space and towards investments in securities.
The person also mentioned that a customer would create a payment mandate against a merchant by blocking funds in their bank account for specific purposes that can be debited, per the requirements.
This will be beneficiary in creating a higher degree of trust in transactions as merchants will be assured about getting timely payments, while the funds will remain in the account of the customer till the actual delivery of goods or services is made.
According to the governor, the feature will help purchase government securities using the RBI’s retail direct scheme.
The National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) will provide instructions to implement the enhancement.
Meanwhile, Das also introduced an expansion in the Bharat Bill Payment System (BBPS) scope to include all payments and collections.
Bharat Bill Payment System does not have a facility for processing non-recurring payments or collection requirements of individuals, even if they are recurring in nature, including this professional service fee payments, education fees, tax payments, and rent collections being outside the ambit of the platform.
The latest launched system will make the BBPS platform accessible to a broader set of individuals and businesses who can offer the best advantages from the transparent and uniform payments experience, faster access to funds and improved efficiency.
