Customers will feel more secure when making such transactions because of the Unified Payment Interface (UPI) platform’s “single-block-and-multiple debits” capability.
According to Das, a customer will create a payment mandate against a merchant by blocking funds in his or her bank account for specific purposes that can be debited whenever necessary.
A New Feature in UPI Platform
The RBI on Wednesday said it has decided to add a feature in the UPI platform to aid payments where delivery of goods and services happens later, like e-commerce purchases, hotel bookings or investments in securities.
“It has…been decided to introduce a single-block-and-multiple-debits functionality in UPI, which will significantly enhance the ease of making payments in e-commerce space and towards investments in securities,” RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das stated following the announcement of the bi-monthly policy review.
Increase Trust in Transactions
According to Das, a customer will create a payment mandate against a merchant by blocking funds in his or her bank account for specific purposes that can be debited whenever necessary. The governor added that such a facility will increase trust in transactions because merchants will be assured of timely payments, while funds will remain in the customer’s account until actual delivery of goods or services.
Bharat Bill Payment System (BBPS) Will Be Expanded
The feature, according to the governor, will also be useful in purchasing government securities through the RBI’s retail direct scheme. He also stated that the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) will be given separate instructions to implement the enhancement. Meanwhile, Das announced that the Bharat Bill Payment System (BBPS) will be expanded to include all payments and collections.
BBPS does not currently have a facility to process non-recurring payments or collection requirements of individuals, even if they are recurring in nature, according to Das, which results in professional service fee payments, education fees, tax payments, and rent collections falling outside the platform’s scope.
The new system will make the BBPS platform accessible to a wider set of individuals and businesses who can benefit from the transparent and uniform payments experience, faster access to funds and improved efficiency, Das said.
