In a move that will further popularise the use of digital payments, the Reserve Bank of India has proposed to introduce a framework for carrying out retail digital payments in offline mode across the country.
The Statement on Developmental and Regulatory Policies on August 6, 2020 had announced a scheme to conduct pilot tests of innovative technology that enables retail digital payments even in situations where internet connectivity is low or not available (offline mode). “Three pilots were successfully conducted under the scheme in different parts of the country during the period from September 2020 to June 2021 involving small-value transactions covering a volume of 2.41 lakh for value ₹1.16 crore,” said RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das on Friday, adding that the learnings indicate that there is a scope to introduce such solutions, especially in remote areas.
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This would enable users who do not have internet connectivity at all times, to be be able to use digital payment modes.
The RBI has also proposed to increase the per-transaction limit for IMPS from ₹2 lakh to ₹5 lakh for channels other than SMS and IVRS. “This will lead to further increase in digital payments and will provide an additional facility to customers for making digital payments beyond ₹2 lakh,” Das said.
The limit for an IMPS transaction through SMS and IVRS channels is ₹ 5,000.