The National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) has launched a pilot project for Bharat Bill Payment System (BBPS). There are 26 Bharat Bill Payment Operating Units (BBPOUs) and in the first phase, BBPS will cover repetitive payments for everyday utility services such as electricity, water, gas, telephone and direct-to-home (DTH). A.P. Hota, MD & CEO, NPCI, said BBPS, in due course of time would link all major billers in the country with all their consumers which will simplify bill presentment and bill payments electronically. Currently the volume of bills being paid by cash is so large that even if 25% of the bills get paid electronically, impact would be visibly enormous, he added. BBPS is an RBI mandated system which will provide interoperable bill payment services to customers. It is an integrated platform connecting banks and non-bank entities in bill aggregation business like billers, payment service providers, retail bill outlets etc. As many as 62 entities have received in-principle approval from RBI to function as BBPOUs, out of which 52 are banking entities and 10 are non-banking entities. NPCI functions as the authorized Bharat Bill Payment Central Unit, which will undertake clearing and settlement activities related to transactions routed through BBPS. The RBI authorized BBPOUs will on-board billers, aggregators and payment gateways. They would also set up agent network and customer touch points to handle bill payments through different delivery channels including self-service, assisted, electronic and manual modes.
