All about e-RUPI

National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) in association with Department of Financial Services (DFS), National Health Authority (NHA), Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW), and partner banks, has launched an innovative digital solution – ‘e-RUPI’.

What is e-RUPI?

e-RUPI is basically a digital voucher which a beneficiary gets on his phone in the form of an SMS or QR code.  It is a pre-paid voucher, which he/she can go and redeem it at any centre that accepts it.

The users of this seamless one-time payment mechanism will be able to redeem the voucher without a card, digital payments app or internet banking access, at the merchants accepting e-RUPI. 

This contactless e-RUPI is easy, safe and secure as it keeps the details of the beneficiaries completely confidential. The entire transaction process through this voucher is relatively faster and at the same time reliable, as the required amount is already stored in the voucher.

e-RUPI should not be confused with Digital Currency which the Reserve Bank of India is contemplating.  Instead e-RUPI is a person specific, even purpose specific digital voucher.

Benefits for Corporates

• Corporates can enable well-being of their employees
• End to end digital transaction and doesn’t require any physical issuance hence leading to cost reduction
• Voucher redemption can be tracked by the issuer
• Quick, safe & contactless voucher distribution

Benefits to the serice providers

• Easy & Secure - Voucher is authorized via a verification code
• Hassle free & Contactless payment collection - Handling of cash or cards is not required
• Quick redemption process - The voucher can be redeemed in a few steps and lesser decline due to pre-blocked amount

Benefits to the Consumer

• Contactless - Beneficiary need not carry a print out of the voucher
• Easy redemption - 2 step redemption process
• Safe and Secure - Beneficiary doesn’t need to share personal details while redemption hence privacy is maintained
• No digital or bank presence required - Consumer redeeming the voucher need not have a digital payment app or a bank account. e-RUPI is operable on basic phones also.

Banks live with e-RUPI

• Axis Bank
• Bank of Baroda
• Canara Bank
• HDFC Bank
• ICICI Bank
• Indusind Bank
• Indian Bank
• Kotak Bank
• Punjab National Bank
• State Bank of India
• Union Bank of India

The acquiring Apps are Bharat Pe, BHIM Baroda Merchant Pay, Pine Labs, PNB Merchant Pay and YoNo SBI Merchant Pay. More banks and acquiring Apps are expected to join the e-RUPI initiative soon.

Where can e-RUPI be used now ?

To begin with NPCI has tied up with more than 1,600 hospitals where e-RUPI can be redeemed.

Experts say, in the days to come the user base of e-RUPI is expected to widen, with even private sector using it to deliver employee benefits and MSMEs adopting it for Business To Business (B2B) transactions.

Source : National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI)