On January 11, the Union Cabinet gave a nod to an incentive scheme of Rs 2,600 crore. The scheme is aimed at boosting low-value transactions done through Unified Payments Interface (UPI) and promoting Rupay debit cards.
As per the government, the scheme has been approved for the financial year 2022-23. The incentives will be given on the use of Rupay debit cards and the person-to-merchant BHIM-UPI transactions of low value, Union Minister Bhupendra Yadav said.
Under the scheme, "the acquiring banks will be provided financial incentive for promoting point-of-sale (PoS) and e-commerce transactions for current FY2022-23", a release issued by the government stated.
The benefits of the scheme are building of a robust digital payment ecosystem, to promote UPI Lite and UPI 123Pay as economical and user-friendly digital payment options.
According to the government, the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) -- the nodal body for digital payments and settlement systems - had requested "for incentivisation of BHIM-UPI and RuPay Debit Card transactions to create a cost-effective value proposition for ecosystem stakeholders, increase merchant acceptance footprints and faster migration from cash payments to digital payments".
