adsense

Thursday, November 8, 2018

Amazon Pay to be India’s first interoperable Wallet



          Reserve Bank of India vide Notification No RBI/2018-19/61 DPSS.CO.PD.No.808/02.14.006/2018-19 dt. October 16, 2018 issued guidelines regarding ‘Interoperability Prepaid Payment Instruments (PPIs)’.

         
Q) What is Interoperability?

Ans: Interoperability is the technical compatibility that enables a payment system to be used in conjunction with other payment systems.

          Interoperability allows PPI Issuers, System Providers and System Participants in different systems to undertake, clear and settle payment transactions across systems without participating in multiple systems.

          Amazon Pay has kick-started the process to be offer interoperability to its wallet holders by tying up with Axis Bank.

          @apl  will be Amazon Pay’s UPI handle. The testing for interoperable launch is in progress with a CUG. Based on the feedback from the CUG users, Amazon Pay will fine-tune the compelte process.

          The date for the public launch is not in public domain.  However, the public launch will be in the near future


7 Benefits to Amazon Pay on this new business opportunity

Benefit 01) The first mover advantage

Benefit 02) Enable Amazon Pay to quickly onboard new merchants with UPI as the key differentiator

Benefit 03) Enable Amazon Pay to acquire a high number of customers through attractive cashback offers

Benefit 04) Enable Amazon Pay to save considerable costs associated with API integration on multiple eCommerce Sites. Amazon Pay wallet users can seamlessly transact with all the UPI handle users without any additional cost.

Benefit 05) More visibility for Amazon Brand across online as well as offline channel.

Benefit 06) Increase in the average balances held by wallet holders in Amazon Pay PPIs

Benefit 07) Increase the pressure on peers to quickly adopt wallet interoperability.
         
Q: What are the requirements for PPIs to achieve interoperability through UPI?

Ans: Requirements for achieving interoperability through UPI

1 PPI issuers shall facilitate all basic / standard features of interoperability of UPI.

2 PPI issuers shall act as Payment System Providers (PSP) in the UPI. NPCI will issue handle to the PPI issuers as per its policy / guidelines taking risk management aspects into consideration. Since *99# USSD is part of UPI, non-bank PPI issuers are also allowed to participate in the same.

3 PPI holders shall be on-boarded for UPI by their own PPI issuer only. PPI issuers shall only link their customer wallets to the handle issued to them.

4.PPI issuers as PSP shall not on-board customers of any bank or any other PPI issuer.

5 Authentication will be completed by the PPI holder as per his / her existing wallet credentials. In other words, a transaction will be pre-approved before it reaches the UPI.

6.  Settlement: For the purposes of settlement, a non-bank PPI issuer shall participate through a sponsor bank. Non-bank PPI issuers shall adhere to the requirements of sponsor bank arrangement in UPI as also meet all requirements of NPCI in this regard.

Additional Reading

RBI Guidelines For The Interoperability Of Prepaid Payment Instruments: A Boost For Digital Wallets?
Now Transfer Money From One E-Wallet To Another As RBI Kickstarts Interoperability

Sunday, October 28, 2018

Will SUN Mobility assist India’s eRickshaws Heroes/Heroines?




Can SUN Mobility motivate its end users to accept Digital Payments??

SUN Mobility ‘Quick Interchange Stations’ to accept only Digital Payments

Government of India under the leadership of Shri Narendra Modi is aggressively pushing for Electric Vehicles.

          One segment has already taken the lead in the switchover to eVehicles without waiting for any Government support. This segment is on the roads 24*7  to  cater to the vast numbers requiring last mile connectivity.

          The last-mile connectivity is to their homes from the nearest Transport Hub i.e Metro Stations, Railway Stations, Shopping Malls, Educational Institutions, Bus Depots, Religious Places, Local Fairs, and Shopping Hubs.

          Rickshaws are still a very popular mode of transport in Bharat and India too. They play a very important role in bridging the last-mile connectivity issues.

          Indian Rickshaw drivers are willing to switch over from conventional petrol/diesel vehicles to Electronic Rickshaws, in spite of challenges in charging the electric batteries.

           ‘E-rickshaw’ boom in Kolkata rides on ‘jugaad’

          Rickshaws also enable the tourists to soak into the local milieu and explore the bylanes of tourist spots safely and quickly.

          E-rickshaws in Jaipur: Freedom on three wheels

          Women rickshaw drivers at the vanguard - go ladies go!

          Indian decision makers at all levels are still slow in lending a helping hand to folks sweating out to reduce the pollution by adopting eVehicles.  

          A focussed policy for easy financing and easy licensing to these Rickshaw Drivers will

01)  Reduce noise pollution
02) Reduce environmental pollution
03) Reduce maintenance   costs  of both public and private vehicles
04) Increase job opportunities
05) Increase earning capacity
06) Increase the happiness quotient
07) Increase footfalls at tourist spots

          SUN Mobility business model is to provide pre-charged Electric Batteries to Electric Vehicles in India.
         
SUN Mobility’s business model separates the battery from the vehicle making EVs financially viable for the first time.

SUN Mobility modular Smart Batteries™ are smaller, lighter, and swiftly swappable confronting long-charging time.

All SUN Mobility Smart Batteries will be connected to the Quick Interchange Station Network.

This will enable SUN Mobility to track its batteries performance all the time without any manual interface.

The end result is to create a convenient refuelling infrastructure, faster and cheaper than existing petrol and diesel pumps for ICE vehicles.

The only mode of payment at the SUN Mobility QIS’s is Digital. Physical Cash is not accepted.

This digital payment mode can be leveraged by SUN Mobility to :

A)   Introduce a Open-Loop Card/Semi-closed Loop Card
B)    eAuto and eRick  drivers can accept digital fares from their customers to this card.
C)    The payments at the QIS can be made through this card
D)   Tie-up with Finance companies can be done for eAuto and eRick drivers to own Safe eVehicles.
E)    Auto deduction of Daily instalment from the eAuto / eRick Driver’s Card to the Finance Company can be set up.
F)    Finance companies can track the performance of the eAuto/eRick through the SUN Mobility Network. Any aberrations can be dealt immediately before the Loan turns into NPA

    
          Quote

A total of 635,698 three-wheel vehicles were sold during the fiscal year that ended in March – a 24 percent increase from a year earlier, according to the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers. By comparison, about 3.3 million passenger cars were sold, mostly all powered by gasoline or diesel.

          One hindrance to the potential growth of EVs is the lack of charging and battery-swapping stations nationwide. India had about 425 publicly available charging points at the end of last year. By 2022, government and private efforts are expected to boost that to an estimated 2,800 charging points, according to BNEF.

Instead of waiting, some companies are starting to build their own infrastructure. SmartE partnered with Delhi Metro Rail Corp. to provide charging near 10 stations, with plans to expand throughout the 214-station system by the end of 2020.

Another hindrance is the lack of bank financing for traditional rickshaw drivers, who typically earn low incomes, said Shishir Agrawal, managing director of Shigan eVoltz Ltd., the parent company of manufacturer GreenRick.

UnQuote

Looking forward to a Less Pollution future for our countrymen/women

Further Reading

01)  How Reva founder Chetan Maini is trying to redefine the future of urban transport

02) E-Rickshaw Revolution Sees India Leave China In The Dust

03) There are more e-rickshaws in India than battery-powered passenger cars in China



Friday, October 19, 2018

Reserve Bank of India releases Dissent Note on Inter-Ministerial Committee for finalization of Amendments to PSS Act




Extract:

An Inter-Ministerial Committee for finalization of amendments to the Payment & Settlement Systems Act, 2007 was formed by the Government under the chairmanship of Secretary, Department of Economic Affairs. RBI was represented in the Committee.

             
Draft report of the Committee has been placed in public domain by the Government. RBI representative has submitted a dissent note on certain recommendations of the Committee, a copy of which is reproduced below for public information.

              Dissent Note : -

Payment systems are a sub-set of currency which is regulated by the RBI. The overarching impact of Monetary policy on payment and settlement systems and vice versa provides support for regulation of payment systems to be with the monetary authority.

There is an underlying bank account for payment systems which is under the purview of banking system regulation which is vested with the RBI.

Settlement systems are finally posted in the books of account of banks with the RBI to attain settlement finality. Regulating these entities goes hand in hand with the settlement function.
There are certain payment systems like cards which are issued by banks globally. Dual regulation over such instruments will not be desirable.

In India, the payment system is bank-dominated. Regulation of the banking systems and payment system by the same regulator provides synergy and inspires public confidence in the payment instruments.

Regulation of the Payment System by the Central Bank is the dominant international model for stability consideration. Thus, having the regulation and supervision over Payment and Settlement systems with the central bank will ensure holistic benefits.

There has been no evidence of any inefficiency in payment systems of India. The digital payments have made good and steady progress. India is gaining international recognition as a leader in payment systems. Given this, there need not be any change in a well-functioning system.

The Payments Regulatory Board (PRB) must remain with the Reserve Bank and headed by the Governor, Reserve Bank of India. It may comprise 3 members nominated by the Government and RBI respectively, with a casting vote for the Governor to ensure smooth operations of the Board.

The composition of the PRB is also not in conformity with the announcements made in the Finance Bill by the Honorable Finance Minister.

Generic comments of RBI on certain recommendations of the report can be read here.

Sunday, September 23, 2018

How India Post Bank can minimise fraud in Ayushman Bharat – Pradhan Mantri Jan Aarogya Yojana (AB-PMJAY)



Fraud Mitigator  No 01) – All Ayushman Mitras be provided with India Post Bank Account. All the amounts due to Ayushman Mitras will be credited to the India Post Bank account only.

There will be no need for the Disbursement Office to deal with multiple banks.

Fraud Mitigator  No 02) All the Family Card Holders be provided with India Post Bank Account. The India Post Bank Account can be the unique identifier in the AB-PMJAY database.

De-duplication will be done by India Post Bank team before opening the India Post Bank Account.

All credits and debits under AB-PMJAY to the eligible beneficiaries will be to the India Post Bank account only.

Ayushman Bharat comprises twin missions:

i. Operationalizing 1.5 lac health and wellness centers offering preventive and primary care, on the supply side;

ii. Financial protection of up to 5 lacs per year per family for the deprived 10 crores plus households towards secondary and tertiary care, on the demand side. Today, Shri Narendra Modi set the ball rolling for AB-PMJAY  at Ranchi.  

Rolling out the ambitious Ayushman Bharat scheme on Sunday from Ranchi, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said the total number of beneficiaries in this scheme would exceed the combined population of US, Canada and Mexico.

Speaking at the launch, PM Modi said Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana-Ayushman Bharat was a "game-changer initiative to serve the poor".

The scheme comes into effect from Sunday i.e 23 Sept 2018

"PMJAY-Ayushman Bharat is the biggest government-sponsored healthcare scheme in the world. The number of beneficiaries is almost equal to the population of Canada, Mexico and the US taken together," Modi said.

"No one needs to register for the initiative. A health card would be provided to the beneficiaries for availing of the benefits. A toll-free number will be made available to the people for finding out more about the scheme," he said.

The Ayushman Bharat scheme will target poor, deprived rural families and identified occupational category of urban workers' families, 8.03 crore in rural and 2.33 crore in urban areas, as per the latest SECC (Socio Economic Caste Census) data.

Like it or not, world over, health insurance schemes/ programs are prone to fraud, abuse and leakages which have to be nipped in the bud.

It is a cat and mouse game between the Insurance implementation agency and the fraudsters.  

  National Health Agency (NHA), the nodal agency for providing technical and managerial oversight to AB-PMJAY, has already started the work to minimise frauds in AB-PMJAY.

NHA is clear on zero tolerance approach towards fraud.

Frauds not only impact the program financially but also often lead to endangerment of people’s health. Therefore, NHA is determined to prevent, detect and deter fraud effectively through robust processes, trained manpower and timely action backed by state-of-the-art IT systems.

In this regard, NHA has released an Invitation for Industry Consultation on Fraud Control under AB-PMJAY.

Ayushman Mitras are the human interface between the patients and the empanelled institutions.

Ayushman  Mitra Training Course

 Aligning to Hon. Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi’s visions to provide universal health coverage to all Indians and to make India, the skill capital of the world, an initiative was announced between Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship and Ministry of Health and Family Welfare where One Lakh Arogya Mitras will be trained by Skill India supporting the recently announced Ayushman Bharat – Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (PMJAY).

Under PMJAY, NHA needs to empanel public and private hospitals to provide health care services; it has been proposed to hire/depute Arogya Mitra at each Empaneled Health Care Provider (EHCP) to provide support in:

(i) Beneficiary verification
(ii) Beneficiary authentication (with internet and without internet)
Beneficiary query management
(iv) Grievance redressal, and
(v) Handling emergency cases

National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC), under the aegis of the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (MSDE) and National Health Agency (NHA), have signed the MoU wherein the duo will target to train these One Lakh Arogya Mitras utilizing Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Kendra (PMKK) and other Skill Development Centres under the MSDE Skill India Framework.

PMJAY has defined 1,350 medical packages covering surgery, medical and day care treatments including medicines, diagnostics and transport. The course module includes 45 hours of training (Online and Oneto-one hands on training).

NSDC has already conducted pilot training in select States to assess the impact and learnings. Training of Master trainers has also been conducted to support training sessions across the country.

These Arogya Mitras will be the first level of interface for the beneficiaries of the PMJAY, hence the quality of skilled workforce will be critical to the success of the scheme.

The funding of the trainings will be done under Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana (PMKVY).

Benefits to Ayushman Mitras

For all the AMs working in public facilities, benefits shall be paid by the SHA selected agency. The AMs shall receive the following benefits:

● Honorarium of Rs. 5,000
● A commission of Rs. 50 on completion of every processed claim including the verification and storage of beneficiary as a golden record.
The variable commission will be paid from the Rogi Kalyan Samiti/NHM Funds. The commission offered will be valid for an initial period of 2 years. The commission offered shall be subjected to a review after 2 years.
● Provision of Mobile Closed User Group (CUG) network by the Third-Party Agency selected by the SHAs

For all the AMs working in Private EHCP, benefits shall be paid by the Private EHCP itself. The nature of benefits should be decided by the Private EHCP

Placement of Ayushman Mitras

AMs will be placed at every public EHCP by the agency selected by the SHA. The exact numbers of AMs to be placed shall be dependent on the average case-load per day.

 A tentative placement of AM based on cases registered per day is given below.

(i) 0-10 Cases – 1 AM
(ii) 10-20 Cases – 2 AMs
(iii) 20-30 Cases – 3 AMs
(iv) 30-40 Cases – 4 AMs

After the initial placement, AMs shall be reshuffled every 6 months within the same city /town as far as feasible.

The reshuffling of AMs shall be done by the selected agency in consultation with the SHA officials.

Ayushman Bharat NHPM (AB-NHPM) Information Letter & Family Card

 AB-NHPM Information Letter & Family Card means a printed letter for the beneficiary household with information about AB-NHPM along with a perforated family card indicating the names of the family members.

The QR code should have ABNHPM Unique ID – AHL TIN (or any other key identifier so identified by NHA) embedded in it.

The AB-PMJAY Family Card is the link between the identified beneficiaries and the AB-PMJAY scheme.

The AB-PMJAY Family Card will contain all the name of the family members eligible for treatment under AB-PMJAY scheme.


The National Health Stack envisages the creation of a unique ID for registered beneficiaries in the system — a ‘Digital Health ID’. Upon the submission of a ‘national identifier’ and completion of the Know Your Customer process, the patient would be registered in the system, and a unique health ID generated.

Additional Reading:
Qualification Pack – Pradhan Mantri Aarogya Mitra
Invitation for Industry Consultation on Fraud Control under AB-PMJAY






UPI adds one more believer to its channel – Karvy KTrack



          KTrack is the mobile investment App offered by Karvy Computershare Private Limited (KCPL)

Karvy forayed into the mutual fund servicing business in 1994 and has been servicing the open-ended mutual funds, since the time they were setup in India in their true form in 1995.

With Mutual Funds emerging as a distinct assets class over the years, Karvy entered into strategic alliance with Computershare, Australia, and formed Karvy Computershare Pvt. Ltd.

To simplify the whole life-cycle of Mutual Funds investments for retail investors, KCPL has launched a Mobile APP under the brand name KTrack.

The goal of KTrack is to enhance the mutual fund investment experience for retial investors.

Retail investors often get lost while managing Mutual Funds investments due to the multiple steps involved in the cycle.

From NAV details to fetching account statement to simple queries, all call for considerable time and effort. And if you are on the move, it becomes even more difficult, juggling portfolios, calculating net worth, sending emails to generate account statement, etc.

          Keeping all this in view, Karvy unveiled the KTRACK mobile app with enhanced user experience and all new services and transacting capabilities.

The Key features for Investors are:

1. Enhanced user experience
- Login through Facebook or Google account
- All new navigation menu
- Sliding tabs for ease of navigation
- OTP Read, and many more...

2. Link your family folios for single portfolio view

3. Invest or re-allocate portfolio from "My Portfolio"

4. Know your transaction status any time

5. Track your NAV performance

          KCPL has added the UPI channel as a payment option from this week. Through the UPI Channel, investors can seamlessly invest money in mutual funds, without the need to log into their netbanking portal or other payment channels.
           

LinkWithin

Related Posts with Thumbnails

Disclaimer

The thoughts in this BLOG are personal, and reflect only my view on the subject.
This are not the views of my Employers.
All images, logos rights rest with the Original TitleHolders

All efforts have been made to make this information as accurate as possible, N Prashant will not be responsible for any loss to any person caused by inaccuracy in the information available on this Website. Relevent Official Gazettes Communications may be consulted for an accurate information. Any discrepancy found may be brought to the notice of N Prashant