Draft on “Payment Systems in India - Vision 2009-12”

Draft on “Payment Systems in India - Vision 2009-12”

  

Reserve Bank of India, has today placed on its website, Draft on “Payment Systems in India - Vision 2009-12”

The Document is slim, just 16 pages, but it power-packed.

This Document lays down Reserve Bank of India’s vision for Payment Systems in India.

In the coming days, will try to post Highlights of the Draft on “Payment Systems in India - Vision 2009-12” 

Draft on “Payment Systems in India - Vision 2009-12”, can be accessed @

http://rbi.org.in/scripts/PublicationReportDetails.aspx?UrlPage=&ID=573

The most exciting aspect of this document is the

INDIA MONEY LINE – 24x7  System for one-to-one funds transfers.

RTGS System – Mandatory Beneficiary Account Number

There has been a fantastic jump in RTGS Transactions since January 2009, in our country.

The figures below  are proof of the same.

RTGS - India
	Total Volumes
Jan-09	1,436,951
Oct-09	2,925,034
Total Jump	1,488,083
% Jump	104

To make RTGS Transactions more user friendly and more importantly, customer-friendly, Reserve Bank of India, Department of Payments and Systems, have introduced a series of Safety/Additional Features in RTGS messages.

Towards this end, Reserve Bank of India, vide Lr.No. RBI/2009-10/215
DPSS (CO) RTGS No.949/ 04.04.002 / 2009 – 2010 dt. November 11, 2009, addressed to Chairman and Managing Director / Chief Executive Officer of all banks participating in RTGS, has made it mandatory to include the Beneficiary Account Number in R41 i.e Customer RTGS Message.

The complete notification can be viewed @

http://www.rbi.org.in/scripts/NotificationUser.aspx?Id=5359&Mode=0

The highlights of the Notification are:

01) No RTGS participant would be able to originate a R41 message without beneficiary account number filled in the line 1 of field tag 5561.

02)  Line 1(account number field) would be alpha-numeric and would not allow special characters and spaces in between.

03) The Notification will be effective from the date on receipt of the requisite IT Patch for PI (Participant Interface), by Reserve Bank of India.

Field tag 5561
Line 1	Account number	[/34X]
Line 2	Name of the Beneficiary	35X
Line 3, 4 and 5	Address and Place of Residence	3*35X

Meanwhile, Banks have to

01)                      Ensure that all their account numbers adhere to the new routing rules i.e Numeric/Alpha Numeric/No special characters or spaces in between.

02)                     Ensure that checks are in-built in their interface software to RBI, to ensure that all their R41 messages contain the Beneficiary Account Number.

03)                     Educate the RTGS users within the Bank, about the applicability of the new rule.

The above notification, will aid in R41 Transactions to move effortlessly in STP (Straight-Thru-Processing) environment. This will result in quicker credit to Customers Accounts, which in turn will boost the Banks CASA.

As more and more R41 Transactions move to the STP, the transaction processing cost too will reduce automatically.

ePayments=High CASA=High CASA=Profits for the Bank. Profits for the Bank=Large Dividend Payout=Large Dividend Payout=Higher Share Price.

NEFT – Contact Details of Member Banks

NEFT – Contact Details of Member Banks.

Reserve Bank of India, Department of Payments and Settlement Systems, has taken the first step in consolidating the Contact Details of the NEFT Member Banks at a single location.

The link can be accessed @

http://www.rbi.org.in/scripts/bs_viewcontent.aspx?Id=2070

Reserve Bank of India, vide Lr.No.RBI/2009-10/216
DPSS (CO) EPPD No. 893/04.03.02/2009-10 dated November 11,2009, addressed to The Chairman and Managing Director/ Chief Executive Officer of all banks participating in NEFT, advised the Banks to place this Directory in the respective Bank’s website too.

Trust all the NEFT Member Banks will complete this exercise by this month-end.

Of course, as a Safe ePayments Motivator, I am not happy. It would have been nice, if the Email Id’s of the NEFT Customer Facilitation Centers were also displayed.

Yes, I know that displaying the Email ids would result in numerous mails, and put pressure on the banks to verify the contents of each mail and respond appropriately.

But, than if the aim is to promote ePayments, I feel email ids of NEFT Customer Facilitation Centers, are necessary.

My earlier Post, in this regard can be interesting

http://prashantnepayments.blogspot.com/2009/07/epayments-standard-helpdesk-contact.html

Anyhow, the first step has been taken, and am sure, this Contact details, will aid in increasing the customer confidence in ePayments and attract new entrants to ePayments.

Product Launch-Andhra Bank-AB Speedway

Product Launch-Andhra Bank-AB Speedway.

Four months ago, Mr, R.S.Reddy’s Andhra Bank’s Chairman and Managing Director, launched a new Product known as AB Speedway, at a function organized in Edison, New Jersey. 

More Details can be accessed @

https://abspeedway.andhrabank.in/info_faq.php

It is nice to know, that Andhra Bank has dedicated a separate webpage for this New Product. The Webpage is comprehensive and quite informative.

AB Speedway aims to tap the NRI’s need for a quick and safe remittance facility.

AP Speedway is a White-Label Product. It rides on Citibank’s QuikRemit   customizable remittance platform.

As per Wikepedia, A white label product or service is a product or service produced by one company (the producer) that other companies (the marketers) rebrand to make it appear as if they made it.

In a way, Andhra Bank has taken a wise decision to White Label an existing product, rather than inventing the wheel. It is a win-win situation for Andhra Bank, Citi, and most importantly Andhra Bank’s NRI Customers.

As the product has been launched 4 months back, I am sure by now; Andhra Bank has got positive feedback, and ironed out, any glitches if any.

The Launch process started in September’2008, with the signing of the Agreement, and ended on June 09, with the launch of the Product as AB Speedway.

Trust Andhra Bank is remitting funds thru RTGS Mode, for Indian Beneficiaries not having account with it.

Product Launch- Citi Tap and Pay

Product Launch- Citi Tap and Pay.

Four months ago, CitiBank in India, launched the next-generartion Mobile Payments in our own Bengaluru, India

 

The Product’s  name is Citi Tap and Pay.

In simple terms, Your Citi Credit Card is transferred to your Mobile Phone(Nokia 6212), and than you can pay your shopping bill by just tapping the phone at the Payment Counter, of Participating Outlets.

More Detials can be accessed at

http://www.online.citibank.co.in/products-services/online-services/tap-and-pay.htm?eOfferCode=OLDURLRED

To encourage Citi Customers, to try out this new facility, Citi has offered to subsidize the cost of Nokia 6612 phone. On top of the subsidy, the users will also be eligible for a Cash-back offer, on making a specified number of transactions.

As this technology is new, Citi is offering this innovative product initially for 6 months only.

Based on the learning’s, Citi might fine-tune the product, before rolling it out nationally.

Nokia will support the service with its NFC-enabled Nokia 6212 phone, which is embedded with an NFC chip. MasterCard will offer its MasterCard PayPass contactless payment and security infrastructure. ViVOtech is providing the underlying technology, including the NFC wallet, the Over-the-Air (OTA) card provisioning software.

 The technology beyond this product is near-field communications (NFC). Near Field Communication (NFC) is a new, short-range wireless connectivity technology that evolved from a combination of existing contactless identification and interconnection technologies

Communication between two NFC-compatible devices occurs when they are brought within four centimeters of one another: a simple wave or touch can establish an NFC connection, which is then compatible with other known wireless technologies such as Bluetooth or Wi-Fi. Because the transmission range is so short, NFC-enabled transactions are inherently secure. Also, physical proximity of the device to the reader gives users the reassurance of being in control of the process.

The success of this new product depends on the POS Terminal with the Merchant Establishments. The POS Terminal has to be equipped to recognize NFC Phones. Hence, this product is acceptable in only 500 outlets in Bangalore.

 For this product to be a success, I feel, Banks and Credit Card Companies might need to work together, otherwise it will be a niche product.