The use of electronic payment
mechanisms is on the rise and is poised for significant growth in the country
after the decision of Government of India to demonetize ₹500 and ₹1000 currency
notes. The ecosystem of electronic payment mechanisms includes various elements
like ePOS machines, internet banking, mobile currency, SMS banking, mobile apps,
etc. It is important to understand these different payment mechanisms in order
to use them in an efficient and secured manner. This note gives information
about different electronic payment mechanisms.
Considering that
the penetration of mobile phones and bank accounts has reached villages, day to
day transactions can be made through mobile banking so that the inhabitants of
the village will purchase grocery, milk, rice, wheat flour etc., through smart banking without
worrying about cash. It may be noted
that necessary charges are deducted by the merchant
bank, customer bank and the payment gateway.
The most prominent
smart banking facilities are:
i)
ePOS Machine( for card based
payments)
ii)
SMS Banking (For feature
phones)
iii)
Internet Banking (for computers)
iv)
Through App (Requires Smart Phone)
i) ePOS
Through POS terminal, we can transfer
amount to merchant’s account using debit card or
credit card and a pin to grant transfer.
There are various
types of terminals available, although most have the same basic
purpose and functions. They allow a customer to insert, swipe the credit/debit card to transmit
this data to the merchant
service provider for authorization and finally, to transfer funds
to the merchant.
All banks’ Debit/Credit
cards can be used for payments.
Banks need to
ensure that ePOS machines are of specified standards and pilfer proof. Should
not be connected to other systems. Customers should protect their PIN and banks
account numbers strictly confidential.
ii)SMS Banking
Most of the people in villages have normal keypad
phones. SMS banking
is one simple method through which
payments can be made. This is very
convenient for places where Internet connectivity is not available. Users have
to be alerted to keep their mobile phones and PIN numbers in strict confidence.
Requirements:
·
Everyone's bank account
is linked with his respective mobile number,
·
The bank should support SMS Banking through IMPS fund
transfer. Most of the banks have this feature
and have their
own format for SMS.
If the villager is an SBI customer, they can use SMS
Banking through IMPS as follows:
<IMPS><Mobile No>
<MMID> <amount><user ID><MPIN><Purpose (optional field upto 20 char Alpha numeric)>
*IMPS: Immediate Payment
Service *MMID: Mobile Money Identifier
Similarly there
are formats to transfer money to bank account or to a registered merchant. The maximum amount that can be transferred in a day, and
recovery of wrong remittances are specific to the banks
whose service is being used.
Features are also available for finding out the balance
in account and last few transactions made.
ii) Internet
Banking
Immediate money transfer through internet banking
website of the bank the customer has
account with. There are different modes of transfer like NEFT, RTGS, IMPS.
Funds can be transferred using IMPS immediately.
Requirements
·
Customer should apply for internet banking to obtain Username and
password.
·
Customer should register beneficiary through Internet banking. Banks have
different cooling periods for registering the beneficiaries.
·
The per day limit per customer is normally sufficient for doing
transactions.
·
Customer should login into his account to transfer money to other person
using the details of IFSC code and Account Number.
iii)
Through App (Requires Smart Phone)
Immediate money transfer
through mobile device round the clock 24*7 and 365 days.
a)Unified Payments Interface (UPI) is a system that powers multiple bank accounts (of participating banks) for:
·
Single mobile application for accessing different
bank accounts
·
Single Click 2 Factor Authentication.
·
Virtual address of the customer for Pull & Push
provides for incremental security with the customer not required to enter the
details such as Card no, Account number; IFSC etc.
·
Bill Sharing with friends, Merchant Payment with
Single Application or In-App Payments., Utility Bill Payments, Over the Counter
Payments, Barcode (Scan and Pay) based payments, Donations, Collections,
Disbursements Scalable.
·
Raising Complaint from Mobile App directly.
Requirements:
·
The App must be installed in the smart phone
·
User needs to register for UPI
a)Bank Specific apps
SBI eBuddy (SBI), Andhra Bank- mPay (Andhra
Bank), iMobile (ICICI)
Requirements:
·
The App must be installed in the smart phone.
·
User has to link his bank account to the app.
b) Wallet Banking Apps
PayTM,
Freecharge, Mobikwik, OxigenWallet, JioMoney, Citrus Wallet etc.. are wallet banking applications. PayTM is the most popular
wallet application using which fund transfer can be made.
Requirements:
·
The App must be installed in the smart phone
·
The wallet must be loaded
with money using
credit/debit card/net banking.
Safe way to transact using mobile/Internet
for banking
ü Use official apps
•
Download and use
app only from Google playstore for android phones
•
Download and use
app only from Appstore for ios phones.
ü Don't click on malicious links
•
Don’t click on suspicious links that you get in
whatsapp, facebook, emails and SMS etc.,
mentioning offers and cash benefits. If you click on the link, they will steal
your passwords and other important information.
ü Visit only secure and verified web sites
•
Login to only the official website, provided by the
banks along with Internet banking details.
•
Perform a
transaction in web site only if it begins with ‘https’. Please see if there is
a green lock symbol before it and proceed with the transaction.
ü Use social media judiciously
•
Please do not
post your personal, location and other private information on any social media.
ü Be wary of unsolicited calls
•
Never reveal any
personal information to unknown people through phone or mail.
Reserve Bank of India
Guidelines
ü Do not disclose any account information(Account number, Credit/Debit
card number, PIN, Phone Number) via
unsolicited phone calls or emails asking for money or any other type of
personal information.
ü Do not trust fictitious offers of large sum of money/lottery winnings by
email or SMS or through phone calls by posing as RBI official.
ü Do not trust offer of employment in the Reserve Bank through email.
ü The Reserve Bank does not have any mobile app with the title 'All Bank
Balance Enquiry No'.
ü Do not trust Multi-level Marketing (MLM) activities.
ü RBI does not carry out any business with an individual, whether through
savings bank account, current bank account, credit card, debit card, online
banking services or receiving and holding funds in foreign exchange or any
other form of banking services
ü Register a complaint with the local police/cyber
crime authorities when you receive fictitious offers of money from abroad or if
they are victims of such offers.
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