RBI to allow automatic replenishment of UPI Lite, FASTag, and NCMC wallets

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has announced the integration of UPI Lite with the e-mandate framework.

The move will allow for the automatic replenishment of UPI Lite balances, aiming to enhance the ease of making small-value digital payments.

RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das said that the integration is based on feedback from various stakeholders and is designed to make the use of UPI Lite more seamless for customers.

How does UPI Lite work?

UPI Lite is a simplified version of the Unified Payments Interface (UPI) that acts as an on-device wallet for small-value transactions.

It was introduced in September 2022 to facilitate quick and seamless small payments. Currently, UPI Lite allows customers to load their wallets up to Rs 2000 and make payments up to Rs 500 without needing a UPI PIN.

The new auto-replenishment feature means that if the wallet balance drops below a certain threshold set by the user, it will be automatically refilled from their bank account.

Benefits of auto-replenishment

The auto-replenishment feature will save users time and effort by ensuring that their UPI Lite wallets always have sufficient funds.

According to Vinayak Goyal, Executive Director of AGS Transact Technologies, this feature will help users conduct payments without worrying about manually reloading their wallets.

Additionally, V. Balasubramanian, CEO of Financial Software and Systems (FSS), highlighted that this integration eliminates the need for additional authentication or pre-debit notifications, making the process even more convenient.

Auto-replenishment of balances in FASTag and NCMC

Apart from UPI Lite, the RBI has proposed to include the auto-replenishment of balances in FASTag and the National Common Mobility Card (NCMC) within the e-mandate framework. Governor Das mentioned that this would enhance convenience for travel and mobility-related payments.

The e-mandate framework, introduced on January 10, 2020, currently supports recurring payments with fixed periodicity, such as daily, weekly, or monthly transactions. The new proposal will allow for auto-replenishment of balances in these wallets without fixed periodicity.