The Reserve Bank of India has today decided to grant ‘in principle’ approval to the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) to function as the Bharat Bill Payment Central Unit (BBPCU) in BBPS. The Bharat Bill Payment System (BBPS), an integrated bill payment system, will function as a tiered structure for operating the bill payment system in the country with a single brand image providing convenience of ‘anytime anywhere’ bill payment to customers. As the centra

In the Union Budget for 2015-16 the Honourable Union Finance Minister had highlighted the need for and use of TReDS for improving flow of funds to MSME sector by reducing the receivables realisation cycles. TReDS will allow SMEs to post their receivables on the system and get them financed. This will not only give them greater access to finance but will also put greater discipline on corporates to pay their dues on time. In line with this, the Reserve Bank of India ha

The Reserve Bank of India has extended the last date for receiving applications for authorising Bharat Bill Payment System Operating Units (BBPOUs), to December 18, 2015 from the earlier November 20, 2015. This has been done keeping in view the difficulties expressed by various entities in meeting the deadline. Applications will now be accepted till the close of business as on December 18, 2015. It may, however, be noted that the applications received till close of bu

The Reserve Bank of India today invited applications for authorisation from entities currently engaged in bill payments and desirous of operating as Bharat Bill Payment System Operating Units (BBPOUs) under the Bharat Bill Payment System (BBPS). The BBPS will be an authorised payment system operated by National Payment Corporation of India (NPCI). To begin with, under BBPS the BBPOUs will function as entities facilitating collection of repetitive payments for everyday

All scheduled and non-scheduled banks – public, private, foreign, cooperative, regional rural and local area banks – will observe public holiday on second and fourth Saturdays from September 01, 2015; and will observe full working days on Saturdays other than second and fourth Saturdays (referred to as working Saturdays in the Press Release). Consequent to this, the Reserve Bank of India has announced the following changes in its functioning with effect from September

The Reserve Bank of India has doubled the limit for cash withdrawal at point-of-sale (POS) in Tier III to VI centres from ₹ 1000/- to ₹ 2000/- per day. This facility will be available for debit cards and open system prepaid cards issued only by banks. It is envisaged that the enhanced amount will add to customer convenience and aid re-cycling of cash in Tier III to VI centres even as the push towards a less cash society is pursued. This facility will be reviewed keepi

The Reserve Bank of India has today decided to grant “in-principle” approval to the following 11 applicants to set up payments banks under the Guidelines for Licensing of Payments Banks issued on November 27, 2014 (Guidelines). Aditya Birla Nuvo Limited Airtel M Commerce Services Limited Cholamandalam Distribution Services Limited Department of Posts Fino PayTech Limited National Securities Depository Limited Reliance Industries Limited Shri Dilip Shantilal Shanghvi S

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) today placed on its website the final guidelines on Prepaid Payment Instruments for Mass Transit System (PPI-MTS) enabling the issuance of a separate category of semi-closed prepaid payment instruments for mass transit systems. The PPI-MTS will enhance commuter convenience and will also facilitate the migration to electronic payments in line with the country’s vision of moving to a less-cash society. The PPI-MTS can be used within the m

The Reserve Bank of India has today placed on its website for comments and feedback the draft guidelines on Prepaid Payment Instruments (PPI) for Mass Transit System (PPI-MTS). Comments may be e-mailed or sent by post to the Chief General Manager, Department of Payment and Settlement Systems, Reserve Bank of India, Central Office, 14th Floor, Shahid Bhagat Singh Marg, Mumbai-400 001 on or before June 15, 2015. Background The Reserve Bank of India has been receiving re

The Reserve Bank of India today released the names of applicants who have applied for setting up Trade Receivables Discounting System (TReDS). These are: Sr.No. Name of the entity 1. NSE Strategic Investment Corporation Limited (NSIC) and Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI), Mumbai 2. Trade Receivables Exchange (Group of Banking Professionals), Mumbai 3. Axis Bank Limited, Mumbai 4. Mynd Solutions Pvt. Ltd., Gurgaon, Haryana 5. DICIC Bank of India, Kolk

The Reserve Bank of India has today placed on its website the Draft Circular for Card Payments - Removal of requirement of Additional Factor of Authentication for small value card present transactions, for feedback. Comments may be emailed or sent by post to the Chief General Manager, Department of Payment and Settlement Systems, Reserve Bank of India, Central Office, 14th Floor, Shahid Bhagat Singh Marg, Mumbai-400001 on or before April 04, 2015. Background The Reser

The Reserve Bank of India has extended the last date for receiving applications for setting up of and operating the Trade Receivables Discounting System (TReDS), to March 9, 2015. The last date for this was February 13, 2015. This has been done keeping in view the difficulties expressed by various parties in meeting the deadline. Accordingly, applications will be accepted till the close of business as on March 9, 2015. Alpana Killawala Principal Chief General Manager

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) today announced the guidelines for setting up and operating the Trade Receivables Discounting System (TReDS). TReDs is a scheme for setting up and operating the institutional mechanism to facilitate the financing of trade receivables of micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) from corporate and other buyers, including government departments and public sector undertakings (PSUs) through multiple financiers. The guidelines outline the

The Reserve Bank of India has today released the final Guidelines for implementation of Bharat Bill Payment System (BBPS). In terms of the guidelines, the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) will function as the authorised Bharat Bill Payment Central Unit (BBPCU) to set the standards for BBPS processes which need to be adhered to by all operating units (Bharat Bill Payment Operating Units - BBPOUs) under the system. NPCI, as the BBPCU, will also undertake cl

The Reserve Bank of India has today defined and issued a list of special characters that are allowed (positive list given in Annex I) and a list of characters that are not allowed (negative list given in Annex II) in RTGS (real time gross settlement) messages. This is in order to have uniformity in usage of special characters by Indian banking industry for seamless processing of RTGS messages. All RTGS member participants are advised to strictly follow these lists for

The Reserve Bank of India has today sought comments on Draft Guidelines for Implementation of Bharat Bill Payment System (BBPS). Bill payment is a major component of the retail payment transactions. Over 30,800 million bills amounting to more than `6000 billion are generated each year in the top 20 cities in the country. Though various forms of payments are accepted, cash and cheque payments continue to be predominant, particularly at the Billers’ Own Collection Point

The Reserve Bank of India has today sought feedback on the Draft Guidelines for setting up of and operating Trade Receivables Discounting System (TReDS). Comments may be emailed or sent by post to the Principal Chief General Manager, Department of Payment and Settlement Systems, Reserve Bank of India, Central Office, 14th Floor, Shahid Bhagat Singh Marg, Mumbai - 400001 on or before August 08, 2014. The guidelines are available on RBI website (www.rbi.org.in). Backgro

The Reserve Bank of India has recently issued Certificates of Authorisation to the following three non-bank entities for setting up and operating White Label ATMs (WLAs) in India: 1. BTI Payments Private Limited, Bangalore 2. Srei Infrastructure Finance Limited, Kolkata 3. RiddiSiddhi Bullions Limited, Mumbai This is in addition to the four entities already authorised to operate as WLAs, viz Tata Communications Payment Solutions Limited, Mumbai, Prizm Payment Services

The Reserve Bank of India has today released, on its website, the final Report of the Technical Committee on Enabling Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) in Payment System Applications. It had released the draft report for public comment on February-March 2014. Cognisant of the fact that non-PKI enabled payment systems, such as, clearing (Magnetic Ink Character Recognition (MICR/Non MICR), electronic credit system, credit card and debit cards contributed 75 per cent in vo

The Reserve Bank of India has today sought feedback on the Concept Paper on Trade Receivables and Credit Exchange for Financing Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs). Comments may be emailed or sent by post to the Chief General Manager, Department of Payment and Settlement Systems, Reserve Bank of India, Central Office, 14th Floor, Shahid Bhagat Singh Marg, Mumbai-400001 on or before April 20, 2014. The concept paper is available on RBI website (www.rbi.org.in).