All posts tagged: digital payments

Nandan Nilekani to lead exam reforms: Amid Gen-Z ire, Modi taps all-season technocrat

Nandan Nilekani to lead exam reforms: Amid Gen-Z ire, Modi taps all-season technocrat

Published by Parlour News

Nandan Nilekani’s appointment on Sunday to head the Narendra Modi government’s new exam-reform task force follows a pattern that goes back around two decades. Successive governments, of different parties, have brought the technocrat back for policy work. In that sense, it’s only the latest turn in a career that has now spanned both the Congress and BJP. Nandan Nilekani, co-founder of Infosys and founding chairman of the UIDAI that brought in Aadhaar, speaking at a conference in Norway in April 2026. (Bloomberg Photo) Modi’s latest move comes as the largely GenZ-driven protests by the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) forced major decisions over the past week. Was on exam-related panel in past Exam reforms are not new territory altogether for Nilekani. Around eight years ago, the Supreme Court constituted a seven-member panel, chaired by retired judge GS Singhvi, that included Nilekani among others, to investigate irregularities in the Staff Selection Commission’s CGL/CHSL 2017 exam. The panel did submit a report, which the court cited in 2020 to conclude there wasn’t enough evidence the entire exam process …

UPI goes live in Greece, boosting India’s global digital payments footprint

UPI goes live in Greece, boosting India’s global digital payments footprint

Published by Webster

Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal on Tuesday said that with the Unified Payments Interface (UPI) now live in Greece, eligible customers can transfer money instantly, securely, and seamlessly. The Union Minister, while speaking about the introduction of UPI in Greece, also said that with this move, transaction costs were reduced drastically to a fraction of conventional transfer costs.  Highlighting the increasing global acceptance and appreciation of UPI, Piyush Goyal, while taking to social media handle X, said, “Reflect the trust in Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision of building technology-led solutions that create value beyond borders and deepen partnerships for shared growth and prosperity.”  Disclaimer: We do not own any of the content, ideas, images, or text presented here. All rights belong to their respective owners. For more information and to view the original source, please visit the following link: Source link

Money matters stifles rural consumer aspirations | Mumbai news

Money matters stifles rural consumer aspirations | Mumbai news

Published by Parlour News

If you know Ankur Dahiya’s background, you will understand why she built Rozana, an e-commerce platform for rural India. Born to a conservative family in Haryana, she grew up in the village, living the rural life, fighting to study computer science and management. Later she consulted on several rural projects of the government, across 13 states, understanding the service need-gaps and paucity of products first-hand. Money matters stifles rural consumer aspirations Four years ago, she co-founded Rozana, a hyper-local e-commerce platform currently servicing 19,000 villages in Haryana and Uttar Pradesh. Familiar with the hole-in-the-wall kirana shops stocking limited items, Dahiya offers a wider selection of branded products – from food and beverages to personal and home care to kitchen items. Aspirations and tastes of rural India have evolved. “People living in small villages like the convenience of online shopping, seek quick deliveries and are open to trying out new products”, she says. Her observations are backed by The Rural Barometer Report 2025 released last week by GroupM and Kantar which showcases the evolution of rural …

Prepaid wallets keep women’s savings safe

Prepaid wallets keep women’s savings safe

Published by Parlour News

The Unified Payments Interface (UPI) has revolutionised financial inclusion by providing an accessible, affordable, and simple platform for digital payments, overcoming traditional banking barriers, especially for underserved populations. It also helps vulnerable populations – such as low-income women or women from rural or peri-urban areas – build a transaction history, thus bringing them onto the wide spectrum of digital financial services. Women empowerment (Voices of Youth) In India, the adoption of women’s mobile internet is rising (The Mobile Gender Gap Report 2023, GSMA). Coupled with the uptake in mobile services, UPI can be a key enabler of women’s financial inclusion, empowering millions economically and socially. Of the 536 million women in the age group of 15 years and older, 37% report using mobile internet (GSMA, 2024), making the addressable women’s market for internet-based UPI solutions 200 million strong. However, this market is not homogenous and has a unique set of barriers and motivators for using UPI. A cohort in this market segment is typical of women who are homemakers or informal workers (such as tuition …

‘Bank.in, fin.in’: RBI’s latest measure to curb cyber financial fraud | Latest News India

‘Bank.in, fin.in’: RBI’s latest measure to curb cyber financial fraud | Latest News India

Published by Parlour News

The Reserve Bank of India announced on Friday that Indian banks will soon have an exclusive internet domain named ‘bank.in’. The apex bank added that non-bank financial entities will have the domain named ‘fin.in’. The decision has been taken to curb financial fraud and make online financial security more robust. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) seal on a gate outside the RBI headquarters in Mumbai.(Reuters) RBI Governor Sanjay Malhotra, while unveiling the last bi-monthly monetary policy of this fiscal year, said registrations for ‘bank.in’ will commence from April 2025, and going forward ‘fin.in’ will be introduced. He added that the decision is aimed at enhancing trust in the financial sector. He also raised concerns over instances of fraud in digital payments. “To combat the same, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) is introducing the ‘bank.in’ exclusive Internet Domain for Indian banks,” he was quoted as saying by news agency PTI. The initiative will likely reduce cyber security threats and malicious activities like phishing and streamline secure financial services. The Institute for Development and Research …

UPI users against levying fee on transactions: Survey | Business News

Published by Parlour News

Users of thriving UPI (Unified Payments Interface) for digital payments are resisting the proposal to levy a fee on such transactions, says a survey. As many as 75 per cent of respondents said that they will stop using UPI if a transaction fee is introduced, according to a survey conducted by LocalCircles. Only 22 per cent UPI users surveyed are willing to bear a transaction fee on payments. The percentage of UPI users unwilling to pay a transaction fee has, in fact, marginally increased from 73 per cent to 75 per cent since the last survey in March 2024, it said. As UPI transactions are growing, fintech industry players and banks have been pushing the government and regulators to permit a Merchant Discount Rate (MDR) on UPI transactions. In other words, they want to levy a fee on merchants/ businesses for UPI transactions similar to how it is levied on merchants in the case of debit and credit card transactions. The demand for MDR has led to small merchants and consumers expressing their discontent. Consumers …

Government to Delay Digital Payments Market Share Cap, Helping Walmart-Backed PhonePe, Google Pay

Published by Webster

India will again delay caps on market share for a popular digital payments method, two sources told Reuters, benefiting Google Pay and Walmart-backed PhonePe as the authorities prioritise growth over concerns about market concentration. The National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI), the quasi-regulator, will extend by as much as two years a year-end deadline to cap at 30 percent the market share of any company processing payments via the Unified Payment Interface (UPI), the sources with direct knowledge of the matter told Reuters. PhonePe’s share of UPI payments has risen to 48.3 percent from 37 percent in April 2020, while Google Pay’s share has declined to 37.4 percent from 44 percent, according to NPCI data. The two processed a combined 11.5 billion transactions in April, the data showed. NPCI and Google Pay declined to comment. PhonePe did not respond to an email seeking comment. India launched UPI in 2016 but barred companies from charging for the instant digital payments service in an effort to promote online transactions and reduce the use of cash in Asia’s third-largest economy. Because …

UPI Services Roll Out in Sri Lanka, Mauritius: Details

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India’s Unified Payment Interface (UPI) services were on Monday rolled out in Sri Lanka and Mauritius, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi describing it as linking historic ties with modern digital technology. India’s RuPay card services were also launched in Mauritius at a virtual ceremony attended by Prime Minister Modi, his Mauritian counterpart Pravind Jugnauth and Sri Lankan President Ranil Wickremesinghe. In his remarks, Modi hoped the new fintech services would help the two nations and said the UPI is implementing “new responsibilities of uniting partners with India”. “Today is a special day for the three friendly countries of the Indian Ocean Region as we are linking our historic ties with modern digital technology,” he said. “I believe that Sri Lanka and Mauritius will benefit from the UPI system,” Modi said. The prime minister said digital public infrastructure has brought about a revolutionary change in India. He also highlighted India’s focus on its “neighbourhood first policy”. “Be it a natural disaster, health-related, economic or supporting on the international stage, India has been the first responder, and …

National common mobility card (NCMC): All you need to know from features to application process | What Is News

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In the era of smart technology, India takes a significant leap towards enhancing the travel experience with the introduction of the National Common Mobility Card (NCMC), introduced as the ‘One Nation, One Card’, enabling users to pay travel charges, toll tax, and parking fees via one card. Launched by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs of the Government of India on March 4, 2019, this initiative aims to streamline public transport payments across the country and make travel seamless and interoperable across different public transportation, such as metro rails, buses, trains, and other forms of transit. Here’s everything you need to know about the NCMC, from its features to the application process and more.  What is the NCMC? Devised to encourage cashless transactions and present a unified payment platform for commuters across the country, launched under the Prime Minister’s ‘One Nation, One Card’ initiative, the National Common Mobility Card (NCMC) is an interoperable transport card. It allows holders to pay for multiple types of public transport, as well as withdraw money and do other …

UPI gets global launch at Eiffel Tower in France

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National Payments Corporation of India’s (NPCI) Unified Payment Interface (UPI) being formally launched at the Eiffel Tower on February 2, 2024 | Photo Credit: PTI India on Friday formally launched UPI at the iconic Eiffel Tower here, terming it as taking Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision of taking UPI global. “UPI formally launched at the iconic Eiffel Tower at the huge Republic Day Reception. Implementing PM @narendramodi’s announcement and the vision of taking UPI global,” the official X handle of India’s Embassy in France posted along with the photos of the event. UPI formally launched at the iconic Eiffel Tower at the huge Republic Day Reception. 🇮🇳➡️🇫🇷 Implementing PM @narendramodi‘s announcement & the vision of taking UPI global. pic.twitter.com/abl7IPJ0To — India in France (@IndiaembFrance) February 2, 2024 Replying to this, Mr. Modi said, “Great to see this – it marks a significant step towards taking UPI global. This is a wonderful example of encouraging digital payments and fostering stronger ties.” Unified Payments Interface (UPI), launched in 2016, is a system that powers multiple bank accounts …