RBI permits pre-sanctioned credit lines at banks by UPI; to float 2 portals

The Unified Payments Interface (UPI) has transformed retail payments in India. UPI’s robustness has been leveraged to develop new products and features from time to time. Recently, RuPay credit cards were permitted to be linked to UPI. This was in addition to the existing facility of linkage of UPI with deposit accounts. Shaktikanta Das, governor, RBI, while announcing the MPC’s decision on policy rate stated: “It is now proposed to expand the scope of UPI by permitting operation of pre-sanctioned credit lines at banks through the UPI. This initiative will further encourage innovation.”

‘PRAVAAH’ for regulatory process efficiency 

At present, the processes for entities to make applications seeking license/authorisation or regulatory approvals from the Reserve Bank under various statutes/regulations take place in both online and off-line modes. Das added: “To simplify and streamline such processes and in line with the Union Budget 2023-24 announcement, it has been decided to have a secured web based centralised portal named as ‘PRAVAAH’ (Platform for Regulatory Application, Validation And Authorisation) for such processes. The portal will show time limits for deciding on the applications/approvals sought. This measure will bring greater efficiencies into regulatory processes and facilitate ease of doing business for the regulated entities of the Reserve Bank.”

At present, the depositors or beneficiaries of unclaimed bank deposits of 10 years or more have to go through the websites of multiple banks to locate such deposits. Das revealed: “Now, in order to improve and widen the access of depositors / beneficiaries to information on such unclaimed deposits, it has been decided to develop a web portal to enable search across multiple banks for possible unclaimed deposits. This will help depositors/beneficiaries in getting back unclaimed deposits.

Recently, the Credit Information Companies (CICs) were brought under the purview of the Reserve Bank Integrated Ombudsman Scheme (RB-IOS). It is now proposed by RBI to put in place the following measures: (i) a compensation mechanism for delayed updation/rectification of credit information reports; (ii) a provision for SMS/email alerts to customers whenever their credit information reports are accessed; (iii) a timeframe for inclusion of data received by CICs from Credit Institutions; and (iv) disclosures on customer complaints received by CICs. These measures will further enhance consumer protection, Das said.