Paytm, on February 9, announced setting up of a group advisory committee to advise the company on strengthening compliance and on regulatory matters.
| Photo Credit: The Hindu

Shares of Paytm owner One97 Communications jumped 5% in the morning trade on February 26 after Reserve Bank of India (RBI) asked retail payment settlement body NPCI to examine the possibility of migrating Paytm Payments Bank customers using ‘@paytm’ UPI handle to other banks.

The stock of crisis-hit fintech company climbed 5% each to ₹428.10 and ₹427.95 apiece — also its upper circuit limit — on the NSE and BSE.

In the morning trade, the 30-share BSE Sensex benchmark slumped 288.71 points or 0.39%, while NSE Nifty fell 71.55 points to 22,141.15. On February 23, the scrip of One97 Communications rallied 5% and locked in upper circuit limit on the BSE.

In a bid to prevent any disruptions in the payment ecosystem, the RBI on Friday asked the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) to examine the possibility of migrating Paytm Payments Bank customers using the UPI handle ‘@paytm’ to four to five other banks.

The Central bank came out with additional steps for the benefit of customers, wallet holders and merchants who are availing banking services from Paytm Payments Bank, which has been barred from accepting deposits and credits after March 15, 2024.

“As the PPBL cannot accept further credits into its customer accounts and wallets after March 15, 2024, certain additional steps have become necessary to ensure seamless digital payments by UPI customers using ‘@paytm’ handle operated by the bank, and minimise concentration risk in the UPI system by having multiple payment app providers,” the RBI said in a statement.

“NPCI has been advised by the RBI to examine the request of One97 Communication Limted (OCL) to become a Third-Party Application Provider (TPAP) for UPI channel for continued UPI operation of the Paytm app, as per the norms,” it said.

Meanwhile, an advisory committee, set up by One97 Communications after the Reserve Bank’s action on its payments bank business, is at a stage of engagement with the company on matters related to the terms of reference for the panel.

The panel’s head and former chairman of Securities and Exchange Board of India M. Damodaran on February 25 said, “We have been engaging with the group on matters relating to the Advisory Committee’s terms of reference.” He said that the panel members are external advisors and at present Paytm is engaged in dealing with the RBI.

On January 31, the RBI asked PPBL (Paytm Payments Bank Limited) to stop further deposits, credit transactions, or top-ups in any customer accounts, prepaid instruments, wallets, FASTags, and National Common Mobility Cards, after February 29. Later, the Central bank extended the deadline till March 15.

Paytm on February 9 announced setting up of a group advisory committee headed by Damodaran. The committee was set up to advise the company on strengthening compliance and on regulatory matters. One97 Communications Ltd (OCL) holds a 49% stake in PPBL.

The Reserve Bank of India is looking at ways to ensure Paytm customers can make seamless digital payments using the app after March 15, 2024. File
| Photo Credit: Reuters

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) said the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) has been asked to examine the possibility of it becoming a third-party application provider for continued UPI operations of the Paytm app. The central bank has barred Paytm Payments Bank from accepting further credits into its customer accounts and wallets after March 15, 2024.

In a bid to ensure seamless digital payments by UPI customers using ‘@paytm’ handle operated by the Paytm Payments Bank, the RBI said it has asked NPCI to examine the request to become a Third-Party Application Provider (TPAP) for UPI channel for continued UPI operation of the Paytm app.

The request has been made by One97 Communication Ltd (OCL), which owns the Paytm brand, the RBI said in a statement.

For seamless migration of ‘@paytm’ handle to other banks, the RBI said NPCI may facilitate certification of four-five banks as Payment Service Provider (PSP) Banks with demonstrated capabilities to process high volume UPI transactions.

Digital transactions have revolutionised the way we conduct financial activities today. These transactions involve the electronic exchange of money or assets between parties, often facilitated through online banking, mobile apps, or digital wallets. This is made possible by Unified Payments Interface (UPI), an instant payment system developed in India by the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI). It offers unparalleled convenience and speed, allowing individuals and businesses to make payments, transfer funds, and engage in commerce with ease. However, there may be instances when a user needs to reverse a UPI transaction due to reasons such as incorrect recipients, or unauthorised payments.

What NPCI says about reversing a UPI transaction?

The UPI creator has implemented a ‘UPI Auto-Reversal’ system to tackle this problem. It, however, specifies that the online reversal will be triggered for approved cases when the beneficiary bank marks RET (return) in response to auto update.

The circular also has also mentioned a procedure to be followed by the bank to return the money sent through UPI.

Steps to reverse UPI transactions

The first step to do it contact your bank or UPI service provider’s customer support. For raising the request, details like Unique Transaction Reference (UTR) number, date and amount are important.

It is important to report UPI transaction issues promptly as some banks and UPI service providers impose a time limit on such requests.

If the person you have incorrectly sent money to has an account with your bank, officials can directly contact the person and request to reverse the money to you.

If the wrong recipient holds an account with another bank, your bank can only act as a facilitator. It can, however, provide you the details of the branch. Only the manager of that bank branch can help you.

If the recipient fails to respond to your request or the bank is unable to retrieve the amount, a complaint can be filed on the NPCI portal. If the complaint remains unresolved for more than 30 days, you can approach the Banking Ombudsman and escalate the issue.

Mumbai:

The NPCI on Wednesday launched a slew of new payment options on popular payments platform UPI, including conversational transactions.

Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor Shaktikanta Das announced the launch of the products by the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) at the ongoing Global Fintech Festival.

The latest offerings — Credit Line on UPI, UPI LITE X, and Tap & Pay, Hello! UPI and Conversational Bill Payments — are aimed at creating an inclusive, resilient, and sustainable digital payments ecosystem and will help UPI achieve the target of 100 billion transactions per month, NPCI said.

Hello! UPI, will help users make voice-enabled UPI payments via apps, telecom calls, and IoT devices in Hindi and English.

It will soon be available in several other regional languages also.

Hello! UPI has been divided into segments: Conversational Payments on UPI, BillPay Connect.

Conversational payments underscores the emergence of a novel paradigm for human-machine interaction facilitated by AI-enabled transactions that will further deepen the reach and use of digital payments in the country, NPCI said in a statement.

NPCI said it has partnered with AI4Bharat at IIT Madras, to co-develop Hindi and English payment language models.

With BillPay Connect, Bharat BillPay introduced a nationalised number for bill payments across the country, NPCI said, adding that customers can conveniently fetch and pay their bills by sending a ‘Hi’ on the messaging app.

Along with this, customers without smartphones or immediate mobile data access will be able to pay bills by giving a missed call as well, it said.

Customers using this facility will receive a call immediately for verification and payment authorisation.

Additionally, BillPay Connect offers Voice Assisted Bill Payments facility. Customers can also fetch and pay bills through voice commands on their smart home devices and get instant voice confirmation, it said.

To expand access to credit, promote financial inclusion and innovation, NPCI has rolled out credit line on UPI.

This will enable pre-sanctioned credit lines from banks via UPI and will revolutionise customer access to credit, fostering a more streamlined and digital banking ecosystem, NPCI said.

With this, the process of availing, connecting, and utilising credit lines will be significantly expedited, driving economic growth and progress, it said.

The initiative has several key features, including linking pre-sanctioned credit lines, creation of digital credit products by banks, establishment of interest-free credit periods and corresponding interest rates, defined schedule of charges, customer engagement channels for credit sanction requests, and the ability to link various pre-sanctioned credit lines via UPI-enabled apps for transactions, it stated.

To ensure seamless interoperability, all UPI apps, including bank and third-party ones, will be empowered to discover and link credit lines on UPI, as well as provide end-to-end customer lifecycle services, it said.

Building on the success of UPI LITE feature, UPI LITE X was launched for offline payments.

Through this feature, users can send and receive money, while being offline, allowing users to execute transactions even in areas with poor connectivity, NPCI said.

UPI LITE X will be accessible to anyone with a compatible device that supports Near Field Communication (NFC), offering payments faster than other payment methods, as they require less time to process the transaction.

In a significant move towards enhancing QR code and NFC technology adoption, UPI Tap & Pay has been rolled out, NPCI said, adding that in addition to the conventional scan-and-pay method, users will now have the option to simply tap NFC-enabled QR codes at merchant locations to complete their payments.

The launch took place in the presence of Advisor to NPCI and Infosys Non-Executive Chairman Nandan Nilekani and Non-Executive Chairman of NPCI Biswamohan Mahapatra.

The launches aligned with the RBI communique in its recent monetary policy announcements, the NPCI said.

Terming the NPCI as the “crown jewel” of India’s technology sector, Mr Nilekani said it has far exceeded expectations.

The structure of NPCI was set up by the RBI in 2008 as a non-profit company for payments.

“It has set the stage for national information utilities. Using NPCI as the template, we have several bodies of similar structures, whether it is GSTM for taxes, DigiYatra app, ONDC,” he said.

In 2016, there were 1,000 startups in the country, which has grown to 1 lakh in 2023, he added

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)