What is NPCI?

What is NPCI?

NPCI is an organisation that is engaged in operating retail payments and settlement systems in India. NPCI is an initiative taken Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and the Indian Banks’ Association (IBA) to draft a robust Payment and settlement Infrastructure in India under the provisions of the Payment and Settlement Systems Act, 2007. NPCI was created to discharge utility for managing payment and settlement systems using optimal usage of technology, given its characteristics, NPCI has been incorporated as a Not for Profit Company under the provisions of Section 8 of the Companies Act 2013....

Full form of NPCI

NPCI stands for National Payments Corporation of India. NPCI along with its ten core promoter banks which include State Bank of India, Punjab National Bank, Canara Bank, Bank of Baroda, Union Bank of India, Bank of India, ICICI Bank Limited, HDFC Bank Limited, Citibank N. A., and HSBC. NPCI has the role of prescribing rules, regulations, guidelines, and all the respective roles, responsibilities, and liabilities of the PSPs and TPAP, transaction processing and settlement, dispute management, and clearing cut-offs for settlement. NPCI has made a significant impact on the retail payment systems in the country and has achieved the objectives for which it was formed....

Objectives of NPCI

1. Infrastructure for Banking: The NPCI‘s main objective is to provide an improved infrastructure for the entire banking industry to introduce electronic and physical settlement and money transfer systems....

Vision of NPCI

1. Best in Class Payment Platform: The vision of NPCI is to provide the country with the best, most secure, simple, and easy-to-use payment interface option anywhere around the country for retail payments, and to create a cost-effective web-based interface. NPCI’s main aim also includes operating the main interest of common men at first and then the interest of all its member banks....

Formation of NPCI

1. Establishment: The National Payments Corporation of India is a company that is registered under Section 8 of the Companies Act of 2013, with its main office in Mumbai. NPCI is formed as a Not-for-profit company....

Services Offered by NPCI

1. National Financial Switch (NFS): National Financial Switch (NFS) is an ATM network with 37 different member banks that connects 50,000+ ATMs, on 14 December 2009 these were taken to NPCI’s authority from the Institute for Development and Research in Banking Technology (IDRBT). After taking over, the NFS ATM network has grown widely. There are 1,140 members along with more than 2.41 lakh ATMs connected to the network as of 31 July 2019....

Conclusion

NPCI has successfully improved the infrastructure for the entire banking industry in India. NPCI has created a robust physical and digital payment and settlement system and has simplified, merged, and incorporated various payment systems into a single national standard uniform and business process for all retail money transactions. NPCI has played a vital role in bridging the financial inclusion of rural and semi-urban populations by introducing features like UPI, AePS, USSD-based banking, etc. NPCI has created services and products that are not only popular in India but have gained attention all around the globe. Countries like France, UAE, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Singapore, Maldives, Bhutan, etc. have shown interest in adopting the UPI technology....