Prime Minister Narendra Modi introduced e-RUPI on August 2 to boost the digital payment system in the country. Developed by the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) on its UPI platform partnering with the Department of Financial Services, Ministry of Health & Family Welfare and National Health Authority, e-RUPI is a person and purpose-specific digital payment solution. It is made aiming at improving transparency and targeted delivery of benefits.
Let’s dig deeper.
What is e-RUPI, and how does it work?
E-Rupi is a cashless and contactless mode of digital payment. The QR code or SMS string-based electronic voucher is delivered to the mobile of the beneficiaries.
You can redeem the voucher with the help of the e-RUPI payment service, and you don’t need a card, digital payments app, or access to e-banking. E-RUPI connects the sponsors of the services with the beneficiaries and service providers in a digital manner without any physical interface. It also makes sure that payment is made to the service provider only after the transaction is processed. As e-RUPI enables pre-paid payment, it ensures timely payment to the service provider without involving any third party.
It has a wide range of offerings. It is meant to provide drugs and nutritional support under Mother and Child Welfare schemes, drugs & diagnostics under schemes like Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana, fertilizer subsidies etc., TB eradication programmes.
As per the government, the private sector can also use these electronic vouchers for their employees’ welfare and corporate social responsibility programmes.
As NPCI has developed this system, onboarded banks will be the one issuing e-RUPI. If any corporate or government agency tends to leverage it, it will have to approach the partner banks, both private and public banks. The details of specific persons and the purpose of the payments have to be mentioned. The beneficiaries will be identified using their mobile number, and a digital voucher allocated by a bank to the service provider in the name of a given person would only be delivered to that individual.
