Fintech Newsletter July 2021 fintech highlights of the month 01

PM launches voucher-based digital payment mechanism e-RUPI

Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched e-RUPI, a person and purpose-specific digital payment solution that is aimed at improving transparency and targeted delivery of benefits. To begin with, the e-RUPI facility is available for health services and will be expanded to other segments.

Expert View

The e-RUPI initiative is one of the most game-changing and revolutionary digital initiatives India has ever witnessed. This electronic voucher, which can be delivered to beneficiaries in the form of a QR code or through an SMS and the funds will be directly transferred to their bank accounts.

This path-breaking initiative actually breaks the point of contact between the government and beneficiaries and will ensure that benefits reach the intended beneficiaries in a targeted and leak-proof manner. Someone with a feature phone mobile can also be benefiting from e-RUPI. Now all Direct Benefit Transfers (DBT), central subsidies, welfare-oriented programs and other cash payments can reach the direct beneficiaries.

Y S Prabhu Kumar, CEO, PayG


Fintech Newsletter July 2021 fintech highlights of the month 02

From Zomato IPO to Flipkart funding, India’s tech moment arrives

A record bout of fundraising and a slew of upcoming startup IPOs has shifted focus to Indian technology start-ups even as investors are spooked by China’s crackdown on its own tech companies.


Fintech Newsletter July 2021 fintech highlights of the month 03

Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL): The model changing the way credit works in India

BNPL loans ticket size can be as low as INR 200 and has been well received in rural areas. These loans have seen immense growth amid the pandemic to finance utility bill payments and other daily expenses.


fintech newsletter July 2021

15 Indian banks form Blockchain Company to process Letters of Credit

15 Indian banks jointly formed Indian Banks’ Blockchain Infrastructure Co Pvt Ltd (IBBIC). Each bank will have an equal stake of 6.6% in the company which will have a capital of INR 75 crore. The company will use blockchain to process letters of credit (LCs) for domestic transactions in a first-of-its-kind move in India.


Fintech Newsletter July 2021 fintech highlights of the month 05

FlexiLoans and Google Pay partner to offer loans to merchants via GPay

This collaboration will offer affordable and instant loans to SMEs who are unable to access formal credit. The technology has enabled millions of merchants to not only receive digital payments but also instant credit using GPay.


Report of the month

Nexus: a blueprint for instant cross-border payments

https://nexus.bisih.org/


fintech highlights newsletter July 2021

Nexus is a model for connecting multiple national payment systems into a cross-border platform that could enable international payments to happen as quickly as sending a text message.

More than 60 countries already have instant (or "fast") payment systems that allow people to send money to each other within seconds. Meanwhile, sending money abroad is often still slow and expensive. Connecting these individual payment systems internationally could improve the speed, cost and transparency of cross-border transactions. It makes recommendations for countries that are upgrading or rebuilding their payments technology to prepare for cross-border interoperability. The Nexus blueprint was developed through extensive consultation with multiple central banks and financial institutions across the globe. It builds on the pioneering bilateral linkage between Singapore's PayNow and Thailand's PromptPay, launched in April 2021, and benefits from the experience of the National Payments Corporation of India's (NPCI) development and operation of the Unified Payments Interface (UPI) system.