RBI flags concerns over cybersecurity

New Payment Mechanism

- Feature phone users can perform various financial and non-financial transactions

- P2P payments, utility bill payments, NETC FASTag recharge, mobile bills, DTH, and mobile recharges possible now

- Users can link a bank account, set UPI PIN, make a balance enquiry

- UPI transactions were 40.49 bn with Rs74.51 trillion in this fiscal so far

- UPI transactions already doubled this fiscal

Mumbai: RBI Governor, Dr Shaktikanta Das, has stressed the need for cybersecurity aspects. Also, he said that systems should be prepared for such risks. The RBI Governor on Tuesday launched UPI 123Pay, an app that enables people, who don't have smartphones or those in rural areas, to make payments through the UPI platform.

He also launched a 24x7 helpline for digital payments, DigiSaathi. The RBI Governor had hinted about it in his monetary policy review meeting in February last year.

The RBI Governor said: "The two landmark initiatives being launched today represent two diverse and two significant dimensions of our payments ecosystem." RBI had indicated towards the launch of the facility in his monetary policy review meeting way back in December.

As part of the initiative, multiple solutions on UPI for feature phone payments have been launched including UPI payment through IVR number, app functionality in feature phones, missed call-based approach, and proximity sound-based payments.

With these facilities, feature phone users would be able to perform various financial and non-financial transactions such as P2P payments, utility bill payments, NETC FASTag recharge, mobile bills, DTH, and mobile recharges along with linking a bank account and setting UPI PIN.

Meanwhile, DigiSaathi will assist the callers with all their queries on digital payments via website and chatbot.

"There has been a huge increase in digital payments, but a large part of this digitisation to people who hold a smartphone," said T Rabi Sankar, Deputy Governor, RBI, adding that UPI transactions are largely limited for the roughly 40 crore people with feature phones.

"If we have to go over to the next stage of development, we will have to think of ways of how UPI will be available on feature phones and offline means," he said.

Digital payment transactions have increased to five times from 4 crore since its inception, to 23 crore now.

Biswamohan Mahapatra, non-executive Chairman, National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI), said: "As many as 40.49 billion transactions with Rs74.51 trillion in value have been carried out through UPI this fiscal, which is almost double the number of transactions in volume terms last fiscal and reflects increased use of digital payments including UPI."

NPCI aims to process a billion transactions a day on UPI by taking digital transactions to every household in the company, he said, adding that the facility will also help the RBI move to the objective of a less cash economy, he added.

The two landmark initiatives being launched today represent two diverse and two significant dimensions of our payments ecosystem

- Shaktikanta Das, RBI Governor