The National Payments Corporation of India has tied up with Kolkata-based payments technology company RS Software to create a platform for the former’s Unified Payment Interface (UPI). UPI is intended to accelerate digital payments adoption in the country as it is envisaged to be used by banks to innovate and launch many mobile payment products. UPI is in line with RBI’s Payment System Vision (2012-15) of a cashless society using the latest technology. It will provide a simple and secured platform for digital transactions through its Application Program Interface (API) and harness the power of existing payment infrastructure like Aadhaar. The interface would allow users to send and receive money electronically without requiring bank account information. The customer only needs to have a single identifier, such as Aadhaar number or Short Payment Address or mobile number. The new interface would be also helpful for small banks that do not have the necessary infrastructure to set up their own digital banking products. A.P. Hota, MD and CEO, NPCI, said 18 banks have already taken interest in the initiative and NPCI is looking for minimum 50 banks to start with. Raj Jain, CMD, RS Software, said convenience, security and speed enabled UPIto accelerate adoption and help to realize the vision of a digitally empowered economy.
