Paytm Payments Bank, a subsidiary of India’s largest mobile wallet operator Paytm, has received final approval from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to operate as a Bharat Bill Payment Operating Unit (BBPOU).
A BBPOU platform works under the National Payments Corporation of India’s (NPCI) BBPS and facilitates bill payments services including electricity, phone, DTH, water, gas insurance, loan repayments, FASTag recharge, education fees and credit card bills.
1. Final Approval to Operate as Bharat Bill Payment Operating Unit (BBPOU)
Paytm Payments Bank Wins Final RBI Nod
Paytm Payments Bank Ltd (PPBL) has been awarded final approval by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to operate as Bharat Bill Payment Operating Unit (BBPOU). As a BBPOU, PPBL can facilitate bill payment services for electricity, phone, DTH, water, gas insurance, loan repayments, FASTag recharge, education fees and credit card bills under Bharat Bill Payment System (BBPS), owned by the National Payments Corporation of India.
PPBL is an established bank that remained the largest UPI beneficiary bank for 19 months in a row with over 1,727 million transactions in December 2022, ahead of all major banks in the country. It is also one of the top 10 remitter banks for UPI transactions according to NPCI’s latest report.
As a digital banking service, Paytm Payments Bank offers customers interoperable and accessible bill payments through a network of registered agents known as Agent Institutions. It supports multiple payment modes and delivers instant payment confirmation.
2. Final Approval to Conduct Bill Payment and Aggregation Business
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Monday gave its final nod to Paytm Payments Bank to conduct bill payment and aggregate business. The digital banking service, which is majority-owned by One97 Communications, will now be able to conduct the services under Bharat Bill Payment System (BBPS), owned by the National Payments Corporation of India.
BBPS is an interoperable platform that allows customers to make payments through a single reference number for utility bills like electricity, phone, DTH, water, gas insurance, loan repayments, FASTag recharge, education fees and credit card bills. BBPS is a one-stop ecosystem conceptualised by the RBI and operated by NPCI, which also provides customer grievance redress mechanism.
As a BBPOU, PPBL will be allowed to facilitate bill payment for electricity, phone, DTH, water, and gas insurance as well as loan repayments, FASTag recharge, credit card bills and municipal taxes. It will also be able to display all Agent institutions on its platforms, under the guidance of the central bank.
3. Final Approval to Display All Agent Institutions on its Platforms
Paytm Payments Bank has received final approval from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to operate as a Bharat Bill Payment Operating Unit (BBPOU). A BBPOU is an innovative technological breakthrough that enables merchant billers to provide their customers with a seamless, secure and superfast bill payment service.
As the name suggests, a BBPOU facilitates bill payments for electricity, phone, DTH, water, gas insurance, loan repayments, FASTag recharge, education fees and credit card bills. Until now, Paytm Payments Bank Limited has been conducting this activity under an in-principal licence from the regulator.
Under the guidance of the good ol’ Reserve Bank of India, PPBL will display all agent institutions on its platforms and make concerted efforts to onboard more billers in the approved categories on the BBPS platform. This is a big win for the digital banking business of Paytm and a great boost to the company’s overall digital strategy. PPBL was the largest UPI beneficiary bank for 19 months in a row and is also among the top 10 remitter banks with 386.5 million registered transactions in December 2022.
4. Final Approval to Onboard New Customers
Paytm Payments Bank has received final approval from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to onboard new customers. This will not affect the existing customers.
The bank has received a nod to operate as Bharat Bill Payment Operating Unit (BBPOU) under the National Payments Corporation of India-run Bharat Bill Payment System, which facilitates bill payment services such as electricity, phone, DTH, water, gas insurance, loan repayments, FASTag recharge, education fees, credit card bills and municipal taxes.
As per the press release issued by Paytm, the final approval is in accordance with the Payment and Settlement Systems Act, 2007.
The bank was incorporated in August 2016 and commenced its operations in May 2017. It has around 6.4 crore customers as of last disclosed numbers.