In it's bid to bring convergence with digitization of financial services across India, after Unified Payment Inreface (UPI), The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has given approval to the Bharat Bill Payment System (BBPS). This new centralized payment system for the residents of India allows them to pay their bills and other common services from a single-interface online or offline. As a customer, you can now pay for utility bills such as electricity or telephone and common services like education institution fee, Insurance etc. through the BBPS.

What is the BBPS?

The primary purpose of the BBPS is to convert India into a less cash society and move towards an electronic bill payment. It is an interoperable bill payment system that uses both online and offline types of billing.

The BBPS will be run by a network of agents and it will be accessible online too. The customers will be able to pay all of their bills ranging from electricity to telephone to school fees to government payments and more. There are multiple payment channels and payment modes available to choose from.

Customers will have the option to pay their bills by connecting directly to the online system. In this case, all the communication will take place in real-time and this online system will work just like the traditional internet banking.

Those who cannot access the BBPS online, they can head to a local agent and pay their bills. These are the same agents that used to collect bills but as of now, they operate in isolation. The BBPS will create a network of these agents and they all will be connected to the BBPS.

At the end of the day, you as the customer will be able to pay all of your bills from a single location safely and securely. The BBPS is an approved system so it is absolutely safe to deal with it.

The Narendra Modi government in India is taking nessecary steps to make digital techology a core strategy to deliver happiness to it's citizen. We covered FASTag RFID Automated Toll Collection system earlier, and today we will write about the "Unified Payments Interface (UPI)" - a system which is slowly taking shape to change the landscape of how people make financial transaction in India.

The online industry has been booming at a rapid pace in the recent times, so much so that most of top brands in Fortune 500 list are online brands. From social media platforms to online shopping websites, there is no dearth of online players in the industry. However, the one thing that is universal across all online platforms is online payment system. Today, every website accepts Paypal, Bitcoin, Credit/Debit Card and Netbanking. However, there is no denying the fact that it is a hassle to enter all your details every time you have to make a payment online. While all websites offer saving these details for easy future payments, however, they are not considered safe and are at the risk of getting stolen. To address this issue, Reserve Bank of India launched a new smartphone based service called Unified Payments Interface (UPI) in the country. UPI is being touted as the future of online banking and here is why?

What is UPI?

You can think of UPI as the advanced version of the existing Immediate Payment Service (IMPS). Some people are also calling it a virtual debit card as it does all the functions of a debit card or netbanking. However, UPI happens to be safer and more secure alternative. If you opt to make payment through the UPI method, the transfer of money takes place without using any conventional method of payment. All it takes is an app on your smartphone and support of the banks in transaction. 29 banks have already agreed to provide UPI service and as many as 21 banks have already registered as payment service providers under UPI. This is a good initiative as it only takes a couple of click and payment would be directly transferred from your bank account to the merchant's bank account.

Social payments and mobile payments are innovative pioneers in the banking sector. The slew of social and digital product introduced by the banking sector is now channeled through which the bank can communicate with us and with which we can perform banking activities.

It has great potential, not only for the young people who use a lot of social networks and smartphones, but also people who want to get away from it cumbersome to go to an office. Axis Bank, the third largest private bank in India, is now facilitating the user in the country to transfer money instantly in a wide range of popular social services including WhatsApp, Twitter, Facebook, email, or directly from the phone to a friend in your contact list.

Axis bank’s new Ping Pay service is the first multi-social payment app to send money/recharge, receive money/recharge and request money/recharge. The app is available for both Axis bank and other bank customers. However, the send money feature is available only to Axis bank customers.

The new payment method can be credited in real time to a different account. The reception is fast and secure through the personal and social contact. In addition, the system is innovative and provides bank customers more flexibility and time savings in financial management.