NPCI proposes scheme to incentivise digital payments

With an aim to ensure that electronic payments are adopted by all sections of the society, the National Institution for Transforming India (NITI) Aayog has requested National Payment Corporation of India (NPCI), a not for profit company, to conceptualise and launch a new scheme to incentivise digital payments.

Guiding India towards being a cashless society, the NPCI proposed that all consumers and merchants using digital payments will be eligible for two levels of incentive amounts available under the scheme: weekly lucky draw of the transaction IDs generated in that week, the contours of which are being finalised, and quarterly draw for grand prizes.

While designing the scheme, the focus will be on the poor, lower middle class and small businesses and all modes of digital payments viz. USSD, AEPS, UPI and RuPay Cards will be eligible, said a statement issued by the NITI Aayog.

For merchants, transactions made on the POS machines installed at their locations would be considered.

The detailed guideline of the scheme will be unveiled soon, however, it would be ensured that all those who have used digital payment systems after November 8 will be eligible to participate in the scheme, it stated.

The scheme would also provide for recognition of state governments, their undertakings, districts and urban and rural local bodies, who innovate for promoting electronic payment in their respective jurisdictions.

To increase overall transparency in the economy, it is important that we set into motion long term schemes to encourage digital payments so that tax evasion can be minimised, said NITI Aayog, adding that it is possible to leverage technology to carry out business transactions digitally through online payments, mobile banking, e-wallets, debit cards etc. There are a large number of instruments to move from digital to digi-dhan.

In Africa a developing country like Kenya has made this possible. In a country like India where 65% of the population is below 35 years of age, whose IT prowess is well recognized and where even poor and illiterate people exercise their franchise through EVMs, this transformation toward digital economy is definitely possible provided the citizens resolve to do so. This would enable the economy to grow at a faster pace, said NITI Aayog, adding "in order to realise this vision, we need to encourage electronic payments and nudge the society to move from digital to 'digi-dhan'".