Moving towards a digital cash society India is committed to creating a digital payments ecosystem with innovations that make ‘Ease of living’ a reality and ensure that welfare benefits reach those who need them the most.
On 2nd August 2021, Hon’ble Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi launched the digital payment solution e-RUPI – a cashless and contactless instrument for digital payment.
The Prime Minister stated that the e-RUPI voucher will play a huge role in making Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) more effective in digital transactions in the country and would give a new dimension to digital governance. He also stated that e-RUPI is a symbol of how India is progressing by connecting people’s lives with technology.
e-RUPI is a person and purpose-specific cashless e-voucher designed to guarantee that the stored money value reaches its intended beneficiary and can only be used for the specific benefit or purpose for which it was intended. The idea is to create a minimal logistics, leak-proof delivery mechanism for a wide range of government Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) programs across the country. The digital e-voucher platform can also be used by organizations who wish to support welfare services through e-RUPI instead of cash.
e rupi Features
- e-RUPI voucher is an end-to-end digital solution to sponsor benefits and services to beneficiaries. e-RUPI can be issued by the sponsor with the support of Issuer banks.
- e-RUPI is a one-time and multiple time use contactless, cashless voucher-based mode of payment that helps users redeem the voucher without card, digital payments app, or internet banking access.
- e-RUPI is a person-specific and even purpose-specific digital voucher, which means these vouchers can be used by person (to whom the voucher is been given) for specific purpose.
- Beneficiary receives e-RUPI voucher on the mobile phone in the form of SMS/QR code.
- Beneficiary can redeem the e-RUPI voucher at any merchant centre which is enabled for e-RUPI acceptance.
e rupi Principles
- e-RUPI voucher can be created or revoked on the request of the Sponsor (Government/Private Entities).
- The cap on the amount for e-RUPI vouchers is INR 1,00,000/- per voucher for Government schemes only. For Private entities, the limit of e-RUPI voucher is at INR 10,000/- per voucher.
- The e-RUPI voucher is allowed to redeem for P2M purchases only. It can be accepted on all UPI merchant acceptance points, or at specific locations as per designed scheme, while issuance of such instrument.
- Every voucher is “digitally validated” on the redemption.
- The voucher issuance format will be digital only for e.g. QR code, SMS string etc.
- The Issuer Bank/Payer PSP may also send the communication for issuance of the e-RUPI voucher to the end beneficiary via another mode basis on the Sponsor request (digital mode only).
- The validity of the e-RUPI voucher shall be defined by the Issuer Bank/Payer PSP as per the use case (Max validity per voucher – 1 year).
e rupi Business Uses
What can the e-RUPI voucher be used for?
e-RUPI voucher can be used for sponsorship/ distribution of goods and services to end beneficiary. Few examples are listed below for references purpose.
- To students for a Scholarship program
- To the beneficiary for the payment of utility bills
- To the beneficiary for medical facilities
- To the beneficiary to avail products such as cycles, fertilizers, etc.
- To the beneficiary for sponsorship of subsidies and services.
- To the beneficiary for tax benefits.
e rupi Business Benefits
What are the business benefits of e-RUPI voucher?
For Governments and Private entities.
- e-RUPI ensures that the voucher is redeemed by the person and for the purpose defined at the time of issuance.
- e-RUPI is end to end digital solution from issuance to redemption that makes the distribution process more transparent and easy to track.
- It will lead to cost savings as well since there is no need for physical issuance of eRUPI.
- Quick, safe & contactless voucher distribution.
e rupi For Customers
- There is no prerequisite for a beneficiary to avail e-RUPI i.e e-RUPI does not require the customer to have a bank account etc., a major distinguishing feature as compared to other digital payment forms.
- It ensures an easy, contactless two-step redemption process that does not require sharing of personal details either.
- e-RUPI is operable on features phones also, and hence it can be used by the beneficiary who does not own smartphones or in places that lack an internet connection.
e rupi Participants
Who all participates in the e-RUPI ecosystem?
- Issuer Bank/Payer PSP: Issuer bank/Payer PSP shall be the bank/PSP which would initiate the request to create e-RUPI voucher to NPCI.
- Sponsor: Sponsor shall be the Corporate, State, and Union Government department, a business customer of the bank who shall request the bank for creation of e-RUPI voucher.
- e-RUPI Beneficiary: e-RUPI beneficiary shall be the person to whom the e-RUPI voucher is issued. An eRUPI Beneficiary may not be a UPI User or bank account holder.
- Designated Merchant: Designated merchant are specific voucher acceptance points where e-RUPI voucher can be redeemed/used.
- Acquiring Bank/Payee PSP: Acquiring bank/Payee PSP shall be providing facility/capability to designated merchants to accept the e-RUPI voucherfor redemption.
Illustration of end to end process
e rupi Steps Involved
- Corporate/Government Department (Sponsor) shares information (specify the fields like name, mobile no, amount, expiry date, purpose of the voucher etc.) to issue eRUPI to Issuer Bank.
- Issuer Bank/Payer PSP initiates the request to generate e-RUPI to NPCI.
- NPCI responds to Issuer Bank/Payer PSP with success confirmation.
- Issuer Bank/Payer PSP confirms e-RUPI generation back to Corporate / Government Entity, to be further distributed to the beneficiary in the form of QR or SMS string by the Bank/Sponsor.
- Beneficiary reaches merchant with e-RUPI redemption.
- Merchants scan e-RUPI vouchers for validation, verify beneficiaries, and initiate redemption requests.
- Post successful redemption confirmation, the merchant provides service to the beneficiary.
