At the Global Fintech Festival 2024 in Mumbai on August 28, RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das introduced two groundbreaking digital payment initiatives from the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI): Bharat BillPay (BBPS) for Business and UPI Circle. These initiatives aim to enhance the inclusivity, security, and efficiency of India’s digital payments ecosystem.

Bharat BillPay for Business

The Bharat BillPay System (BBPS) for Business is set to transform business-to-business (B2B) transactions by centralizing and automating invoice payments across various Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) and accounting platforms. This unified platform simplifies B2B payments, offering features such as business onboarding, purchase order creation, invoice management, automated payment reminders, guaranteed settlements, and an online dispute resolution system. BBPS for Business integrates Accounts Receivable (AR) and Accounts Payable (AP) dashboards, facilitating a smooth transition from manual to digital payment and invoicing processes.

UPI Circle: Enhanced Delegated Payments

The second initiative, UPI Circle, expands the functionality of UPI by allowing users to delegate payment responsibilities to secondary users. UPI Circle offers two delegation modes: full and partial. In full delegation, a primary user authorizes a secondary user to complete UPI transactions up to ₹15,000 per month and ₹5,000 per transaction. Partial delegation allows secondary users to request payments, which the primary user then authorizes using their UPI PIN. Users can link up to five secondary users to a primary account, with each secondary user able to accept delegation from only one primary user. This new feature enhances UPI’s flexibility and accessibility, as demonstrated live using popular UPI-enabled apps like BHIM.

The launch event was attended by key industry figures, including Nandan Nilekani, Non-Executive Chairman of Infosys and Advisor to NPCI, and Ajay Kumar Choudhary, Non-Executive Chairman and Independent Director of NPCI.