Banking

RBI bars payment system operators from introducing new QR codes

22.10.2020

RBI bars Payment System Operators (PSOs) from launching any new proprietary QR code for payment transactions. In order to strengthen the digital payment eco-system and move towards less-cash economy, Reserve Bank had constituted a Committee to review the current system of Quick Response (QR) Codes in India and suggest measures for moving towards interoperable QR Codes. The decision to continue with the two existing Quick Response (QR) codes was based on the recommendations of the committee. The measures are expected to reinforce the acceptance infrastructure, provide better user convenience due to interoperability and enhance system efficiency.

The two interoperable QR codes in existence – UPI QR and Bharat QR – shall continue as at present. Payment System Operators (PSOs) that use proprietary QR codes shall shift to one or more interoperable QR codes; the process of migration shall be completed by March 31, 2022. No new proprietary QR codes shall henceforth be launched by any PSO for any payment transaction. RBI shall continue a consultative process to standardise and improve interoperable QR codes, to enable beneficial features identified by the Deepak Phatak Committee. PSOs may take initiative to increase awareness about interoperable QR codes.

QR codes are two-dimensional machine-readable barcodes, which are increasingly used to facilitate mobile payments at the point-of-sale. QR codes can store a large amount of information. Proper standardization process should be adopted by banks and non-bank applications in order to offer ease to the customer in transactions via QR codes. QR codes should be equipped with multi-currency and multi-language support. The directive is issued under Section 10 (2) read with Section 18 of the Payment and Settlement Systems Act, 2007.

Tags : QR code Bar PSO’s

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