The National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) is an umbrella organization for operating retail payments and settlement systems in India. It was established by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and the Indian Banks’ Association (IBA) under the provisions of the Payment and Settlement Systems Act, 2007.
Key functions of NPCI include:
- Unified Payments Interface (UPI): This system allows for instant transfer of money between any two parties’ bank accounts via mobile platforms.
- Immediate Payment Service (IMPS): This service allows customers to make 24×7 interbank electronic fund transfers.
- National Automated Clearing House (NACH): This is a centralized clearing service that aims to consolidate multiple ECS (Electronic Clearing Service) systems running across the country.
- Bharat Interface for Money (BHIM): An app developed by NPCI for facilitating e-payments directly through banks.
- RuPay: India’s own card payment scheme to facilitate debit, credit and prepaid card transactions at ATMs, PoS terminals, and e-commerce websites.
- Aadhaar Enabled Payment System (AePS): A type of payment system that allows customers to carry out financial transactions on a micro-ATM by using their Aadhaar number and verifying it with their fingerprint or iris scan.
- FASTag: An electronic toll collection system operated by NPCI.
The objective of NPCI is to facilitate an affordable payment mechanism to benefit the common man across the country and help in financial inclusion. It is a crucial body that helps in the promotion of digital and electronic payments in India.
As of my knowledge cutoff in September 2021, these are the services offered by NPCI. If there are changes or additions to these services after September 2021, I recommend checking NPCI’s official website or other recent sources for the most accurate information.
To know more about national payments corporation of india click on below article.