Voucher based payment system

Developed by NPCI, Department of Financial

Services, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare
and the National Health Authority
Voucher will be transferred directly to the mobile
phone as an SMS String or QR Code.

There are already many countries using the voucher system for example the US, Colombia, Chile, Sweden, Hong
Kong, etc.
Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi on August 2nd, 2021 launched digital payment solution e-RUPI
It is a cashless and contactless instrument for digital payment.
Huge role in making Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) more effective in digital transactions in the country and will
give a new dimension to digital governance.
A symbol of how India is progressing by connecting people’s lives with technology
Government embarked on this to capture the unbanked population

1. It is a person-specific and purpose-specific payments system, which means they can be redeemed only for the
intended purpose, for example, if they are for vaccination purposes, they can only be redeemed at vaccination
centres or hospitals, etc. for the prescribed purpose.
2. e-RUPI is a cashless and contactless digital payments medium
3. This will essentially be like a prepaid gift-voucher (paid for by the government agency or ministry providing the
service) that will be redeemable at specific accepting centres without any credit or debit card, a mobile app or
internet banking.
4. It will be in form of an SMS-string or a QR code.
5. One-time payment mechanism
6. A person without a bank account can also use e-RUPI.
7. It will ensure seamless benefit transfer to citizens in a ‘leak-proof’ manner.
8. Any government agency or corporation can generate these e-vouchers through their bank partners.
9. The system is prepaid in nature and hence assures timely payment to the service provider without the
involvement of any intermediary.

e-RUPI will connect the sponsors of the services with the beneficiaries and service providers in a digital
manner without any physical interface.
 Government agencies/corporations will approach the partner banks and give them the details regarding the
beneficiaries and the purposes for which payments will have to be made.
 Beneficiaries are identified using their mobile numbers.
  The voucher is allocated to the service provider (merchant) in the name of the beneficiary and only this
would be delivered to the intended beneficiary.
 The beneficiary of the service will receive the QR code or the SMS string on his/her phone.
 The person should show this code or string at the service provider (like a hospital or PHC) where it will be
scanned by the merchant.
 Then, a verification code will be sent to the beneficiary’s phone which would have to be shared with the
merchant, and the payment would be successful.

NPCI has partnered with 11 banks for e-RUPI transactions. They are:
Axis Bank
Bank of Baroda
Canara Bank
HDFC Bank
ICICI Bank
Indian Bank
IndusInd Bank
Kotak Mahindra Bank
Punjab National Bank
State Bank of India
Union Bank of India

Bharat Pe
BHIM Baroda Merchant Pay Pine Labs
PNB Merchant Pay
YoNo SBI Merchant Pay.

❖ The government is using this facility for health services. To begin with NPCI has tied up with more than 1,600
hospitals where e-RUPI can be redeemed.
❖ It is expected to ensure a leak-proof delivery of welfare services, DBT schemes, fertilizer subsidies, etc.
❖ Later, it can be used for various other services. Corporates may also use this for giving benefits to their
employees and also for CSR (Corporate social responsibility) programmes.

• The beneficiaries of this payment system need not have internet banking access, a smartphone, a card or even a
bank account to avail of this service.
• The most important distinguishing feature of e-RUPI compared to other digital payment systems is that the
beneficiary need not be banked. This would translate into higher adoption rates in rural areas and among
economically backward sections of the population.
• e-RUPI has a significant potential to support small businesses in taking direct benefit from a multitude of
governments schemes as well.
• It will foster financial inclusion in the country. It will also ensure that government services reach the list mile
beneficiaries without leakage of benefits/funds and in a transparent manner.
• It will expedite the targeted, transparent, and leakage-free delivery to the endpoint.
• e-RUPI is easy, safe and secure as it keeps the details of the beneficiaries completely confidential.