NPCI (National Payments Corporation of India)

Overview:

What is NPCI?

NPCI stands for the National Payments Corporation of India. NPCI is an umbrella organisation for operating retail payments and settlement systems in India. NPCI is an initiative of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and the Indian Banks’ Association (IBA) under the provisions of the Payment and Settlement Systems Act, 2007, to create a robust Payment & Settlement Infrastructure in India.

NPCI is transforming India into a ‘less-cash’ society by touching every Indian with one or other payment services. With each passing year, India is moving towards the vision of being the best payments network globally.

Establishment:

The NPCI was founded in December 2008 as a not-for-profit organisation registered under Section 8 of the Companies Act 2013.

Headquarters:

The headquarters of NPCI is situated in Mumbai, Maharashtra.

Objectives of NPCI:

The NPCI is focused on bringing innovations in the retail payment systems through technology to achieve greater efficiency in operations and widening the reach of payment systems. NPCI has significantly impacted the retail payment systems in the country.

Subsidiary Organizations:

NPCI International Payments Limited (NIPL):

NIPL was created as a separate subsidiary organization to take its services to the global market. The organization is getting offers from worldwide to improve its payment infrastructure. Internationalization of RuPay cards and Unified Payment Interface (UPI) are the primary focus of the NIPL.

NPCI Bharat BillPay Limited (NBBL):

In April 2021, NPCI created a new subsidiary organization called NBBL for a separate payment service Bharat Bill Payment System (BBPS) to increase growth, especially in business to consumer segment for small businesses. The BBPS was created due to high traffic and workload on UPI, IMPS, Aadhaar Enabled Payment System and National Electronic Toll Collections.

NPCI Services:

RuPay:

RuPay is an Indigenously developed Payment System designed to meet the expectations and needs of the Indian consumer, banks and merchant eco-system. RuPay supports the issuance of debit, credit and prepaid cards by banks in India thereby supporting the growth of retail electronic payments in India.

The alliances with international network partners such as Discover Financial Services, Japan Credit Bureau and China Union Pay provide valuable access to a global acceptance footprint and offer world-class payment solutions to RuPay cardholders.

Immediate Payment Service (IMPS):

With Immediate Payment Service (IMPS), India has become the leading country in the world in real-time payments in the retail sector.

Unified Payments Interface (UPI):

Unified Payments Interface (UPI) has been termed as the revolutionary product in the payment system.

National Automated Clearing House (NACH):

NACH is an offline web-based system for bulk push and pull transactions. NACH provides an electronic mandate platform to register mandates facilitating the paperless collection process for the corporates and banks. It provides for both account-based and Aadhaar-based transactions.

Aadhaar Payment Bridge System (APBS):

APBS is helping the Government and Government agencies in making Direct Benefit Transfers for various Central as well as State sponsored schemes.

Aadhaar-enabled Payment System (AePS):

AePS is a network of Micro ATMs using Aadhaar authentication to access these funds at the doorstep and drive financial inclusion in India.

National Financial Switch (NFS):

NFS is the largest network of shared Automated Teller Machines (ATMs) in India facilitating interoperable cash withdrawal, card-to-card funds transfer and interoperable cash deposit transactions among other value-added services in the country.

Bharat Bill Payment System (BBPS):

BBPS is a one-stop bill payment system for all recurring payments with 200+ Billers in categories such as Electricity, Gas, Water, Telecom, DTH, Loan Repayments, Insurance, FASTag Recharge, Cable etc. across India.

National Electronic Toll Collection (NETC):

The NETC program is to meet the electronic tolling requirements of the Indian market. It provides an electronic payment facility for customers to make payments at national, state and city toll plazas by identifying the vehicle uniquely through a FASTag. FASTags are Radio-Frequency Identification (RFID) stickers which are affixed on the vehicle windshield and enable the driver to make toll payments electronically while the vehicle is in motion without stopping at the Toll plazas by saving Fuel and Time.