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NRIs will soon be able to pay bills for families in India, says RBI

The Bharat Bill Payment System (BBPS) would handle international ‘inbound’ bill payments, according to Reserve Bank of India Governor Shaktikanta Das. Seniors citizens reliant on children or have relatives living abroad should gain from this decision. Earlier this service was available only to customers in India only.

According to the Statement on Developmental and Regulatory Policies, “BBPS is currently accessible only for residents in India. To facilitate Non-Resident Indians (NRIs) undertaking utility, education, and other bill payments on behalf of their families in India, it is proposed to enable BBPS to accept cross-border inward payments. This will also benefit the payment of bills of any biller onboarded on the BBPS platform in an interoperable manner. Necessary instructions will be issued shortly.”

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“NRIs will now be able to enjoy various offerings of BBPS such as a reliable bill payment experience, centralised customer grievances redress mechanism, and uniform customer convenience fee while paying utility bills, education-related payments, and other cross-border transactions. What was earlier limited to the Indian residents is now being expanded to the Indians overseas and it’s a commendable step to provide an STP kind of secured cross-border payment experience,” according to RBI.

What is Bharat Bill Payment System (BBPS)?

Bharat Bill Payment System (BBPS) is an RBI-mandated system that offers integrated and interoperable bill payment services to customers across geographies with certainty, reliability, and safety of transactions. It offers bill payment services to customers through a network of agents or online, allowing multiple payment modes and providing instant confirmation. It will facilitate a cashless society by migrating bill payments from cash to electronic channels.

This payment system allows several payment options and instant receipt or SMS confirmation of bill payment. At a single window, a customer can pay multiple utility bills, including those for electricity, telecom, DTH, gas, and water, as well as other recurring payments, including those for insurance premiums, mutual funds, school and institution fees, credit card charges, fastag recharges, local taxes, and housing society dues. To assist customers with any bill-related issues in BBPS, a powerful system for resolving customer complaints has also been put in place.

Bharat Bill Payment System (BBPS) has transformed the bill payment experience for users in India. Over 20,000 billers are part of the system, and more than 8 crore transactions are processed on a monthly basis. It is now proposed to enable BBPS to accept cross-border inward bill payments. This will enable Non-Resident Indians (NRIs) to undertake bill payments for utility, education and other such payments on behalf of their families in India. This will greatly benefit the senior citizens in particular.

Example of Bharat Bill Payment System (BBPS) transaction

One can pay the mobile phone bill by going to a service provider’s website. In this case, the payment is made directly to the service provider. Here, BBPS does not come into play. But, if the bill payment was to be made through online or mobile banking, then the payment may be routed through BBPS.

Draft Guidelines for Implementation of Bharat Bill Payment System (BBPS)

on 14th June 2021, the RBI has issued the draft Guidelines for Implementation of Bharat Bill Payment System (BBPS) Here is the circular of Draft Guidelines:


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