On March 4, 2024, Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has given approval to NPCI Bharat BillPay Ltd (NBBL) to launch an interoperable payment system for internet banking in the Calendar Year 2024 (CY24).
- This will allow merchants to more quickly settle funds.
- This information was shared by the Governor of RBI, Shaktikanta Das, at the Digital Payments Awareness Week (DPAW) celebrations, in Mumbai, Maharashtra.
Note: National Payments Corporation of India(NPCI) is a non-profit organization established by RBI for the operation of retail payment in India.
Key Points:
i.This measure will further boost the user confidence in Digital Payments.
ii.RBI urged all stakeholders like industry, payment system operators, media, digital payment users, to promote ‘Har Payment Digital’.
iii.Retail digital payments in India grows from 162 crore transactions in FY 2012-13 to over 14,726 crore transactions in 2023-24 (till February 2024) i.e., approximately 90-fold increase over 12 years.
iv.The share of UPI (Unified Payment Interface) in digital payments has reached close to 80% in 2023. At a macro level, the volume of UPI transactions increased from 43 crore in Calendar Year (CY)-2017 to 11,761 crore in CY-2023.
RBI Approves USD 530mn All-Stock Amalgamation of Fincare SFB with AU SFB
RBI has sanctioned USD 530 million all-stocks Scheme of Amalgamation of Bengaluru, Karnataka based Fincare Small Finance Bank (SFB) Ltd. (Transferor Bank) with Jaipur, Rajasthan headquartered AU SFB Ltd. (Transferee Bank) in exercise of the powers contained in sub-section (4) of Section 44A of the Banking Regulation (BR) Act, 1949.
- It is the first ever amalgamation between two SFBs.
- The effective date of amalgamation is 1st April 2024.
- Following this, all the branches of Fincare SFB Ltd. will function as branches of AU SFB Ltd.
Key Points:
i.As part of the amalgamation arrangement, shareholders will get 579 shares of the AU SFB, for every 2,000 shares owned in Fincare SFB.
ii.Fincare SFB shareholders to own 9.9% equity in AU Small Finance Bank post-amalgamation
iii.The promoters of Fincare SFB will infuse Rs 700 crore of fresh capital following the amalgamation.
iv.In January 2024, the Competition Commission of India (CCI) had approved this merger.
RBI directs IIFL Finance to cease and desist from sanctioning or disbursing gold loans
RBI in exercise of its powers under Section 45L(1)(b) of the RBI Act, 1934, directed IIFL Finance Ltd. to cease and desist, w.e.f March 4, 2024, from sanctioning or disbursing gold loans or assigning/ securitising/ selling any of its gold loans.
- However, it can continue to service its existing gold loan portfolio through usual collection and recovery processes.
Reason behind this decision:
The RBI inspected the company’s financial position as of March 31, 2023, identifying serious concerns in its gold loan operations, including inaccuracies in gold assessment, breaches in Loan-to-Value ratio, and lack of transparency in customer charges. Despite engagement with management and auditors, no significant corrective actions were taken. Immediate business restrictions have been imposed to protect customer interests, pending a special audit and satisfactory resolution of identified issues.
Recent Related News:
i.On October 23, 2023, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) in consultation with the Government of India (GoI), has expanded the range of products offered through RBI Retail Direct portal by allowing retail investors to subscribe to Floating Rate Savings Bonds , 2020 (Taxable)- FRSB 2020 (T).
ii.RBI has granted in-principle authorization to MobiKwik’s payment gateway
arm Zaakpay to operate as an online payment aggregator (PA).
About Reserve Bank of India (RBI):
Governor – Shaktikanta Das
Deputy Governors – Swaminathan Janakiraman, Michael Debabrata Patra, M. Rajeshwar Rao, T. Rabi Sankar
Establishment– 1st April 1935
Headquarters– Mumbai, Maharashtra
