NPCI stands for National Payment Corporation of India. NPCI is an initiative of the Reserve Bank of India and Indian Banks’ Association. Thus, its aim is to promote the digital payment and settlement system of India at retail level. Accordingly, it has been created under the provisions of the Payment and Settlement Systems Act, 2007. However, it incorporates as a non-profit corporation under section 25 of the Companies Act, 1956 or section 8 of the Companies Act, 2013. Additionally, the joint promoters of NCPI are-
- SBI
- Punjab National Bank
- Canara Bank
- Bank of Baroda
- Union bank of India
- Bank of India
- ICICI bank
- HDFC bank
- Citibank N.A.
- HSBC
Different products and services of NPCI
Unified Payments Interface (UPI)-
- It powers multiple bank accounts into a single mobile application (of any participating bank), merging several banking features, seamless fund routing & merchant payments into one hood.
Immediate Payment Service (IMPS)-
Additionally, it provides robust and real time fund transfer which offers an instant, 24X7, interbank electronic fund transfer service that could be accessed on multiple channels like Mobile, Internet, ATM, SMS. Again, IMPS is an emphatic service which allows transferring of funds instantly within banks across India which is not only safe but also economical.
RuPay-
RuPay is the first-of-its-kind domestic Card payment network of India, with wide acceptance at ATMs, POS devices and e-commerce websites across India.
National Automated Clearing House-
National Automated Clearing House (NACH) is a centralized system. Hence, it is launched with an aim to consolidate multiple ECS systems running across the country and provides a framework for the harmonization of standard & practices and removes local barriers/inhibitors.
Aadhaar Enabled Payment System–
Additionally, AePS is a bank led model which allows online interoperable financial inclusion transaction at PoS (MicroATM) through the Business correspondent of any bank using the Aadhaar authentication.
e-RUPI–
e-RUPI would be shared with the beneficiaries for a specific purpose or activity by organizations or Government via SMS or QR code.
*99#-
*99# service launches to take the banking services to every common man across the country. Thus, banking customers can avail this service by dialing *99#. However, it is a “Common number across all Telecom Service Providers (TSPs)” on their mobile phone. Accordingly, it transacts through an interactive menu displayed on the mobile screen.
Cheque truncation system–
Extended cut off time for acceptance of Customer Cheques by banks.
National Financial Switch (NFS)– NFS ATM network having 37 members and connecting about 50,000 ATMs. Later, it NPCI took over from Institute for Development and Research in Banking Technology (IDRBT) on December 14, 2009.