From now onwards, it will be possible for NRIs to pay various types of bills straight away without using their bank accounts in India. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has decided to widen the scope of the Bharat Bill payment system (BBPS) to accept cross-border inward payments. This will facilitate NRIs to pay electricity, telephone or any other bills on behalf of their families based in India through this RBI payment mechanism. Previously, the BBPS was only available for people residing in India.
So, What Exactly Is This BBPS?
This happens to be a payment mechanism devised by the RBI and controlled by the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI). It is a single platform to pay any bill and provides customers in India with an easy option in terms of footing bills. As per NPCI’s online portal, BBPS is an “anytime anywhere bill payment service to all customers across India with certainty, reliability and safety of transactions.”
The bills can be paid via several payment options via BBPS. For example, Cards (credit, debit, and prepaid), NEFT internet banking, UPI, wallets, Aadhar-based payments, and cash happen to be the payment options facilitated by the system developed by the RBI.
Make Any Payment From A Single Point
Aided by BBPS, people have the liberty of paying utility bills like electricity, mobile, internet, gas etc. These apart, other recurring payments, such as mutual fund and insurance premiums, educational fees, credit card payments, fastag recharges, local taxes and housing society maintenance bills etc can also be made through a single window. In case customers face any problem regarding their bill payments via BBPS, there is a provision of a potent system to deal with their grievances effectively.
As mentioned previously, thus far, BBPS could only be utilised by residents in India, however, with RBI’s new measure NRIs have also come under the ambit of BBPS enabling them to make payments in India from outside of the country. As a result, NRIs can foot bills for their families in India by themselves going forward.
The Various Payment Channels
In order to perform transactions, NRIs or Indian residents can make use of digital platforms like internet, internet banking, mobile, mobile banking, POS (Point of Sale terminal), MPOS (Mobile Point of Sale terminal), kiosk, and offline channels like ATM, bank branch, agents and business correspondents.
However, the RBI is yet to come up with pertinent instructions regarding the new measure.
(With Inputs From Agencies)
