Payment bank licence to be game changer: RBI official

The RBI on Tuesday said the issuance of payment bank licence would be a game changer in the realm of remittances and bill payments with potential collaborations between telecom companies and banks.

Speaking at the ninth edition of the Confederation of Indian Industry's (CII) "Banking Tech Summit", Reserve Bank of India's Deputy Governor H.R. Khan said the summit is happening at an apt time after the recent "Gyan Sangam" held in Pune that emphasised on using and liberalising technology in banking.

He was joined by other bankers who recognised and appreciated the multi-pronged impetus given to the banking industry by digitisation.

Khan highlighted the RBI's technology adoption by invoking e-kuber -- a core banking platform adopted by it that allows banks to operate through a single account with the central bank.

Connecting Aadhaar cards under the Jan Dhan Yojana will be the solution going forward for financial inclusion as it can facilitate the service of 120 million cards, added Khan.

The RBI is viewing bill payment systems as the next big thing for which Bharat Bill Payment System and National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) are joining forces with other bill aggregators, he said.

A.P. Hota, MD and CEO of NPCI, said that universalisation of access in banking can be achieved by digitization. He added that currently 70 to 80 percent of transactions are digitized in public, private and foreign banks.

Hota said NABARD is in the process of digitizing 85 regional rural banks and there are plans to implement digitization in 31 state and 360 plus district cooperative banks.

He also said that 100 percent digitization of payment methods cannot be achieved by internet banking alone but would require mobile phones as well.

Moving to electronic transaction avenues bolstered banks' business growth significantly, said M. S. Raghavan, chairman and MD of IDBI Bank.

Raghavan added that technology improved the efficiency and efficacy of banking procedures.