Sam Gupta, is the Director & CEO at RBP Finivis and a graduate from Punjabi University and MBA finance, Sam also holds Exim diploma expertise in International trade finance and merchant banking. He has over 23 years of exposure in countries like Hong Kong, Singapore, Thailand, Malaysia and Dubai. It is his experience and exposure that helps him provide organisational leadership with his unique combination of technical acumen and business understanding. RBP Fivinis, incepted in 2019, is a finTech firm that promotes financial inclusion. The company offers financial products and services that help businesses and individuals to easily participate in the financial sector. RBP Fivinis is a direct API provider in India which has an edge over technology. RBP Finivis recently launched a self-service Mego ATM. It is equipped with a micro ATM device which allows cash withdrawals and deposits. Their target segment is students, schools, unemployed youth and the rural population. Sam always stays on the top of industry trends; deploys exciting & comprehensive tools; and can be heeded to for learning resources and updates on technological advancements.
George Bernard Shaw once asserted, “Progress is impossible without change,” which is indeed true even in the case of digital payment space. e-RUPI, launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, is one such example that has been recently added to the kitty of changing digital landscape of India.
What is e-RUPI?
It’s a pre-paid digital voucher that a person receives on his phone. The individual can redeem it at any center that accepts it. For instance, assume that the Government wants to cover a specific treatment of a worker in a certain hospital. It can give an e-RUPI voucher for a particular amount, which the individual will receive as an SMS or a QR Code on his mobile phone, no matter smart or basic. He/she can go to the predetermined hospital, avail of the assistance, and then pay through the e-RUPI voucher that he obtained on his phone. The hospital will scan that QR code and a verification code will be sent to the beneficiary’s phone. S/he will have to share the code and the payment will be successful. Ergo, consider e-RUPI a one-time contactless, voucher-based method of payment that assists the customers in availing the voucher.
The amalgamation of the terms ‘digital’ and ‘currency’ has made many people speculate that it is a sort of ‘cryptocurrency’. Well, no! A cryptocurrency is binary data based on blockchain technology, which is designed to work as a medium of exchange. The experts have refused to acknowledge all such theories and asked people to avoid creating any confusion between the two. e-RUPI is way different and it should not be confused with digital currency, which the RBI (Reserve Bank of India) has been contemplating as a measure to enhance financial inclusion. It is interesting to note that, e-RUPI is a person- and even purpose-specific digital voucher, which means that if they are released for the purpose of education, they can only be redeemed for that. This would give assurance to the payer that the money that they had donated was used only for the purpose for which it was sent. Any organization that embraces the concept can assist people in various sectors, be it health, education, or any other.
What is financial inclusion?
It is a strategy for offering banking and monetary administrations to people. The objective is to include everyone in society by providing them fundamental financial services, no matter what their income is. It centers around giving financial solutions for the ones who are unable to make the ends meet. Financial inclusion is extensively used to explain the arrangement of investment funds and loan services to the underprivileged in a low-cost and simple to utilize structure. It focuses on guaranteeing that poverty-stricken people accomplish financial education. An ever-increasing number of new businesses are gradually simplifying the process of financial inclusion with advancements in technology or the fintech sector (finance technology) and digital transactions.
What is the impact of e-RUPI on financial inclusion?
If we talk about the impact of e-RUPI, the main aim and long-term vision behind it is bridging the digital divide among the unbanked population through financial inclusion. The beneficiaries of this method of payment do not require an ATM card, digital payment applications, or even internet banking access for that matter in order to redeem the voucher. It’s a process that has been proven to be secure as it keeps all the information and the details of the users completely confidential, in turn, maintaining their privacy.
The recently launched digital currency is an end-to-end tech-enabled transaction, which helps in cost reduction. Right from easy tracking of the availing of the voucher by the issuer, being quick, safe and contactless distribution of the voucher, to the rapid redemption process, decreased declining rate due to the pre-blocked amount and the fact that no technology or bank presence is required, e-RUPI has numerous advantages. It seems that e-RUPI is a representation of how India is progressing as it gradually connects people’s lives with technology, regardless of their status.
When the main objective and long-term vision behind e-RUPI is financial inclusion, it clearly means that it is inflicting a positive impact on financial inclusion.
Can e-RUPI soon become the real game-changer for digital currency adoption in the country? We will have to wait to find out its answer.