In news- BHIM UPI has been launched in Bhutan via a virtual ceremony by the Finance Minister of India & Finance Minister of Bhutan.
Key updates-
- Bhutan becomes the first country, in India’s immediate neighbourhood, to use the BHIM app for mobile-based payments.
- It is also the first country to adopt UPI standards for its QR deployment.
- According to NPCI International Payments Ltd (NIPL), Bhutan is also the second country after Singapore to have BHIM-UPI acceptance at merchant locations.
- National Payment Corporation of India’s arm, NPCI International Payments Ltd. (NIPL) has partnered with the Royal Monetary Authority (RMA) of Bhutan for implementing BHIM UPI in Bhutan.
- With the launching of the BHIM app, Bhutan will become the only country to both issue and accept RuPay cards as well as accept BHIM-UPI.
- The payment infrastructures of the two countries are seamlessly connected and will benefit a large number of tourists and businessmen from India who travel to Bhutan each year.
About Bharat Interface for Money (BHIM)-
- BHIM is a Unified Payments Interface (UPI) based payment interface which allows real time fund transfer using a single identity like your mobile number or name.
- It is a payment method to transfer money between 2 parties and is similar to NEFT or RTGS transfers in that way.
- One can make direct bank payments to anyone on UPI using their UPI ID or scanning their QR with the BHIM app.
- It was developed by NPCI.
National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI)-
- It is an umbrella organisation for operating retail payments and settlement systems in India.
- It is an initiative of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and Indian Banks’ Association (IBA) under the provisions of the Payment and Settlement Systems Act, 2007, for creating a robust Payment and Settlement Infrastructure in India.
It has been incorporated as a “Not for Profit Company” under the provisions of Section 25 of Companies Act 1956, with an intention to provide infrastructure to the entire banking system in India for physical as well as electronic payment and settlement systems.
Source: The Hindu
