The Reserve Bank's 'Payments Vision 2025' document, which seeks a three-fold jump in the number of digital payments, is progressive and aims to establish India as a powerhouse of payments globally, opined industry players.
The RBI on June 17 came out with its 'Payments Vision 2025' document which also talks about ring-fencing of domestic payment systems, including the need to mandate domestic processing of payment transactions, in view of the emerging geopolitical risks.
The core theme of the vision documents is 'E-Payments for Everyone, Everywhere, Everytime' (4Es), with an overall objective to provide every user with safe, secure, fast, convenient, accessible, and affordable e-payment options. Commenting on the document, Rajesh Mirjankar, MD and CEO, Kiya.ai, said the Payments Vision 2025 is progressive and has an outlook to establish India as a powerhouse of payments globally.
"One of the most important forward-looking initiatives is the global outreach of UPI, RTGS, NEFT and RuPay cards with internationalisation, where bilateral treaties with nations especially covering the USD, GBP and Euro will hugely benefit Indian residents and their counterparts overseas with online realisation at lesser costs," said Mr. Mirjankar.
Dilip Modi, founder of Spice Money, said while the pandemic raged across the country, India was on a path to realising its payments vision, and digital payments grew phenomenally in volume and popularity, with a constant thrust from the government and the rise of rural fintechs.
It is heartening to note that the RBI takes measures that will further enhance safety and security for rural citizens, where digital and financial literacy continues to be core challenges, he said.
V. Swaminathan, Executive Chairman, Andromeda Loans and Apnapaisa, said the RBI came out with its Payments Vision 2025 document to check the flow of cash in distribution and enhance the overall digital transactions in the country. "Overall, the RBI seems to be pushing digital transactions and reducing the time taken in various settlements. With the UPI on its side, the momentum is on the rise and the nation looks forward to having multiple options to transact irrespective of the quantum of the amount to be transacted," he said.
Anand Kumar Bajaj, founder, MD and CEO of PayNearby, was of the opinion that inclusion and innovation are two of the crucial goal-posts of the document put out by the RBI. "To pursue the collective goal of financial inclusion for all, it is crucial to deepen our engagement with stakeholders and extend our outreach deeper into the real economy.
"Therefore, engaging with private enterprises that are present in the lives of people and driving commerce up to the bottom of the pyramid is important," Mr. Kumar noted.
Avinash Godkhindi, MD and CEO, Zaggle, said India has made phenomenal strides in payments in the last few years, UPI and RuPay being the biggest success stories. "Now taking them global will clearly establish India as the undisputed global leader in payments. Linking credit cards to UPI is another gamechanger as would globalisation of India's Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDCs)," said Mr. Godkhindi.
As per the RBI, total digital payments have increased by 216% and 10% in terms of volume and value, respectively, for the month of March 2022 when compared to March 2019.
On the other hand, usage of paper instruments has come down significantly during the same period, with its share in total retail payments registering a decline from 3.83% to 0.88% in terms of volume and from 19.62% to 11.47% in terms of value.
While issuing the document, the central bank had said 'Payments Vision 2025' has been prepared after considering the inputs from various stakeholders and guidance from the Board for Regulation and Supervision of Payment and Settlement Systems of the RBI.
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