PM Modi to launch e-RUPI on Monday: All you need to know about the new e-Voucher based digital payment instrument

In a big boost to the Digital India initiative, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will launch a futuristic digital payment solution by the name of e-RUPI on Monday (August 2) at 4:30 pm. It has been developed by the National Payments Corporation of India on its UPI platform, in collaboration with the Department of Financial Services, Ministry of Health & Family Welfare, and National Health Authority.

According to the Press Information Bureau (PIB), e-RUPI is one of the several programmes launched by the Modi government to ensure leak-proof transfer of government benefits to the target users. A cashless and contactless digital payment instrument, e-RUPI is a QR code/e-Voucher that is delivered to the cell phones of beneficiaries. The voucher can then be redeemed without a card or internet banking access at the service provider. Without the need for a physical interface, e-RUPI will connect the sponsors with the beneficiaries and service providers in a digital manner.

https://twitter.com/narendramodi/status/1421806044192264195?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw

As such, payment to the service provider will only be made after a transaction is completed. Given that it is a pre-paid payment instrument, e-RUPI will ensure timely payment without the requirement for intermediaries. e-RUPI is expected to revolutionise the delivery of welfare services such as nutritional support (Mother and Child welfare schemes), TB eradication schemes, drugs and diagnostics (Ayushman Bharat), fertiliser subsidies, employee welfare in the private sector and Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) programmes.

UPI crosses ₹6 lakh crore in transaction value in July, sets new record

UPI, also known as Unified Payments Interface, crossed the 300 crore volume mark and ₹6 lac crore in transaction value for the month of July. As per the National Payments Corporation of India, a total of 324 crores UPI transactions were processed in the last month that amounted to ₹6.06 lac crore value in value. About 280 crore UPI transactions worth ₹5.47 lac crore was made for the month of June. It must be mentioned that about 9-10 crore UPI transactions are processed each day.

UPI came into existence in 2016 but crossed the 100 crore mark in terms of volume in October 2019. Despite the slow economic growth, worsened by the Coronavirus pandemic, UPI is still a popular and preferred method of digital payment. Besides UPI, Immediate Payments Service (IMPS) processed transactions worth ₹3.09 lac crore in July as compared to ₹2.84 lac crore in June. While Aadhar Enabled Payment System (AePS) transactions worth ₹ 23,447.11 crore was processed, about ₹2,976.39 crore was processed on NETC FASTag for the month of July.