RBI Allows Automatic Replenishment Of UPI Lite, FASTag And NCMC Wallets

The Reserve Bank of India has proposed a facility to allow customers to automatically replenish their UPI Lite wallets within the ambit of its e-mandate framework.

A similar automatic replenishment facility is aimed at being provided for other pre paid instruments such as FASTag and National Common Mobility Card (NCMC), which will mitigate the risk of low balance.

“The UPI Lite facility currently allows a customer to load his UPI Lite wallet up to INR 2,000 and make payments up to INR 500 from the wallet. In order to enable the customers to use the UPI Lite seamlessly, and based on the feedback received from various stakeholders, it is proposed to bring UPI Lite within the ambit of the e-mandate framework by introducing an auto replenishment facility for loading the UPI Lite wallet by the customer, if the balance goes below a threshold amount set by him/her,” said RBI in a statement.

Presently, the UPI Lite app can hold a maximum of INR 2,000 at a time.

UPI Lite, introduced in September 2022, enables quick and seamless small-value payments through an on-device wallet. To encourage wider adoption, UPI Lite will now fall under the e-mandate framework, allowing customers to automatically replenish their wallets when the balance drops below a set threshold. 

This enhancement aims to make small-value digital payments even more convenient.

The statement further said that since the funds remain with the customer (moving from their account to the wallet), the need for additional authentication or pre-debit notification is proposed to be dispensed with. Related guidelines regarding this proposal will be issued shortly.

Further, the e-mandate framework for recurring transactions will now include payments for FASTag and NCMC balances, which are recurring but not fixed in periodicity. An automatic replenishment facility will be introduced, triggering a top up when balances fall below a customer-set threshold. 

“It is now proposed to include payments, such as replenishment of balances in FASTag, NCMC, etc. which are recurring in nature but without any fixed periodicity, into the e-mandate framework. These categories of payments are made as and when needed and, therefore, their replenishment is not time specific or amount specific. Under the e-mandate framework, it is proposed to introduce an automatic replenishment facility for such payments. The automatic replenishment will be triggered when the balance in FASTag or NCMC falls below a threshold amount set by the customer,” the statement said.

Additionally, the current requirement for a 24-hour pre-debit notification will be waived for these automatic top-ups.

The central bank is also set to establish a digital payments intelligence platform aimed at combating the surging challenges of cybercrime in India’s digital payment ecosystem.

“The Reserve Bank, over the years, has undertaken a number of measures for the safety and security of digital payments to maintain public confidence in digital payment systems. Sustaining such confidence would require minimising the incidence of frauds. Many frauds occur by influencing unsuspecting victims to make the payment or share credentials,” the central bank said.

This development coincides with Paytm’s parent entity One97 Communications shifting its focus to the UPI Lite wallet to cater to users who prefer wallets for low-value transactions.

Paytm’s UPI Lite wallet is designed for transactions up to INR 500 each. Users can add up to INR 2,000 to their wallet twice a day, with a total daily limit of INR 4,000.