Experts laud RBI’s aim to make India global powerhouse of payments by 2025

The Reserve Bank’s ‘Payments Vision 2025’ document, which seeks a three-fold jump in the number of digital payments, is progressive and aims to establish India as a powerhouse of payments globally, opined industry players.

The RBI on Friday came out with the document which also talks about ring-fencing of domestic payment systems, including the need to mandate domestic processing of payment transactions, in view of the emerging geopolitical risks.

The core theme of the vision documents is ‘E-Payments for Everyone, Everywhere, Everytime’ (4Es), with an overall objective to provide every user with safe, secure, fast, convenient, accessible, and affordable e-payment options.

Rajesh Mirjankar, MD and CEO, Kiya.ai, said the Payments Vision 2025 is progressive and has an outlook to establish India as a powerhouse of payments globally.

“One of the most important forward-looking initiatives is the global outreach of UPI, RTGS, NEFT and RuPay cards with internationalisation, where bilateral treaties with nations especially covering the USD, GBP and Euro will hugely benefit Indian residents and their counterparties overseas with online realisation at lesser costs,” said Mirjankar.

Dilip Modi, founder of Spice Money, said while the pandemic raged across the country, India was on a path to realising its payments vision, and digital payments grew phenomenally in volume and popularity, with a constant thrust from the government and the rise of rural fintechs.

It is heartening to note that the RBI takes measures that will further enhance safety and security for rural citizens, where digital and financial literacy continues to be core challenges, he said.

V Swaminathan, Executive Chairman, Andromeda Loans and Apnapaisa, said the RBI came out with its Payments Vision 2025 document to check the flow of cash in distribution and enhance the overall digital transactions in the country.

“Overall, the RBI seems to be pushing digital transactions and reducing the time taken in various settlements. With the UPI on its side, the momentum is on the rise and the nation looks forward to having multiple options to transact irrespective of the quantum of the amount to be transacted,” he said.

Anand Kumar Bajaj, founder, MD and CEO of PayNearby, was of the opinion that inclusion and innovation are two of the crucial goal-posts of the document put out by the RBI. “To pursue the collective goal of financial inclusion for all, it is crucial to deepen our engagement with stakeholders and extend our outreach deeper into the real economy.

“Therefore, engaging with private enterprises that are present in the lives of people and driving commerce up to the bottom of the pyramid is important,” Kumar noted.

Avinash Godkhindi, MDCEO, Zaggle, said India has made phenomenal strides in payments in the last few years, UPI and RuPay being the biggest success stories.