In its monetary policy review, the RBI has announced the proposal to increase the limit on e-RUPI vouchers from ₹10,000 to ₹1 lakh, which will help the government transfer more benefits to the public.
The Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) in its bi-monthly policy review also kept the repo rate and reverse repo rate unchanged while maintaining a cautious stand on cryptocurrencies.
As regards the e-RUPI, the central bank of India also allowed multiple uses of one voucher till its balance is exhausted. Previously, the voucher could be used only a single time.
What is the e-RUPI voucher?
It is the latest digital innovation launched by the government in August 2021. e-RUPI is essentially a contactless and cashless instrument for digital payment. It works on the UPI (United Payment Interface) platform of the National Payment Corporation of India and is used to transfer the benefits of schemes such as COVID-19 vaccinations to the beneficiaries directly to their mobile phones.
e-RUPI works on QR code or string-based payment systems and is a purpose-specific and person-specific digital voucher. The voucher is like an e-gift card that can be redeemed by the beneficiary at a center that will accept it. Many other use cases are also being considered by the Central and State governments apart from the vaccination program.
What are the advantages of the e-RUPI voucher?
e-RUPI is especially beneficial in rural and semi-urban areas with poor digital reach and low internet connectivity. These digital vouchers can be safely used to transfer benefits to the public by the government and corporations and can prove to be a cost-effective payment mechanism.
Moreover, the e-RUPI voucher would help make Direct Benefit Transfer more efficient in digital transactions over the country, giving a targeted, transparent and leakage-free delivery.
e-RUPI vouchers can be used without a card, digital payment app, or internet banking access making it very easy to use and globally accessible. Even if an individual does not have a bank account, internet access, or a smartphone, he or she can easily access the benefits through this voucher.
List of Partner Banks
There are 16 banks that are acting as issuers and 8 banks that are acquirers in the e-RUPI ecosystem -
|
Name of Banks |
Issuer |
Acquirer |
Acquiring App |
|
Union Bank of India |
Yes |
No |
NA |
|
State bank of India |
Yes |
Yes |
YONO SBI Merchant |
|
Punjab national bank |
Yes |
Yes |
PNB Merchant Pay |
|
Kotak bank |
Yes |
No |
NA |
|
Indian bank |
Yes |
No |
NA |
|
Indusind bank |
Yes |
No |
NA |
|
ICICI bank |
Yes |
Yes |
Bharat Pe and PineLabs |
|
HDFC bank |
Yes |
Yes |
HDFC Business App |
|
Canara bank |
Yes |
No |
NA |
|
Bank of Baroda |
Yes |
Yes |
BHIM Baroda Merchant Pay |
|
Axis bank |
Yes |
Yes |
Bharat Pe |
The Ministry of India and the RBI are also working on a central bank digital currency (CBDC) and will be deployed in segments, as per RBI. The central bank deputy governor, Mr. T Rabi Sankar, stated in a webinar on July 23, 2021, that CBDC is needed not just for the benefits they bring in payment structure, but also could be important to protect the citizens in a situation of volatile private Virtual Currencies.
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