The National Payments Corporations of India (NPCI) is an umbrella organisation launched in 2008 by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and the Indian Banks’ Association (IBA) under the provisions of the Payment and Settlement Systems Act, 2007.
The NPCI, owned by a consortium of banks, is aimed at creating robust payments and settlement systems.
NPCI is promoted by ten major banks, including the State Bank of India, Punjab National Bank, Citibank, Bank of Baroda, and HSBC. In 2016 the shareholding was broad-based to 56 member banks to include more banks representing all sectors. According to the NPCI website, new entities regulated by RBI were inducted in 2020, consisting of Payment Service Operators, payment banks, and Small Finance Banks.
Also read: How to file transaction-based issues with NPCI
The regulatory board of the NPCI, headquartered in Mumbai, includes nominees from the RBI along with nominees from ten core promoter banks. Payment systems that the NPCI can operate include National Financial Switch (NFS), Immediate Payment System (IMPS), Aadhaar-enabled Payments System (AEPS) and National Automated Clearing House (NACH).
NPCI has also launched products including RuPay, Bharat Bill Payment System (BBPS), Bharat Interface for Money (BHIM), and Unified Payments Interface (UPI). UPI has been termed as the revolutionary product in the payment system, the NPCI website read. The NPCI has recently notified a new interchange fee (1.1 per cent for transactions over ₹2,000) applicable to Pre Paid Instruments (PPI). “There is no charge to customers. It is further clarified that there are no charges for the bank account to bank account based UPI payments (i.e. normal UPI payments),” the NPCI added.
Also read: How to change your UPI PIN without debit card
Published on April 3, 2023
