BHARAT
BILL PAYMENT SYSTEM - ECONOMY
News:
RBI streamlines Bharat
Bill Payment System norms, customer protection in focus
What's
in the news?
●
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) issued the
revised regulatory framework of the Bharat Bill Payment directions to
streamline the bill payments process, enable greater participation, and enhance
customer protection.
Key
takeaways:
●
The revised framework will apply from
April 1, 2024 to banks, NPCI Bharat BillPay Limited and other non-bank payment
system participants, the release read.
Bharat
Bill Payment System:
●
BBPS is an integrated bill payment system or a platform which acts as a
connection between various billers and users.
Features:
●
It is a one-stop ecosystem for payment of all bills providing an
interoperable and accessible “Anytime Anywhere” Bill payment service to all
customers across India with certainty, reliability and safety of transactions.
●
It offers customers the convenience of
payment by cataloguing various utility providers under one platform.
●
It acts as a central reference for a customer who wants to make different
payments — whether utility bills, loan repayments, FasTag recharge, and so on.
Different
Payment Channels:
●
Bharat BillPay transactions can be
initiated through multiple payment
channels like Internet, Internet Banking, Mobile, Mobile-Banking, Mobile
Wallets Bank Branch, Agents and Business Correspondents etc.
●
It provides instant confirmation of
payment via an SMS or receipt.
Stakeholders
of BBPS:
●
BBPS was conceptualised by the Reserve
Bank of India in 2013 and is a product of the National Payments Council of India (NPCI).
●
It was piloted in 2016 and went live a
year later.
●
By 2019, BBPS onboarded all recurring
payments.
Components:
There are two key
components in the BBPS system,
1.
Bharat Bill Payment Central Unit (BBPCU):
●
The BBPCU is NPCI, which lays downs the
operating procedures and standards for BBPS.
2.
Bharat Bill Payment Operating Units (BBPOUs):
●
BBPOUs adhere to the rules set by BBPCU.
They are the banking and non-banking entities that handle the payments load.
●
Then, there are billers (utility
providers) and agents, either as institutions or individuals, who provide
services primarily on the collection side, to BBPOUs.