The Reserve Bank of India on 6th August 2020 has permitted small value offline transactions through cards and mobile devices for single payments of up to Rs 200 on pilot basis.
Under the pilot scheme, authorized Payment System Operators (PSOs) – banks and non-banks – will be able to provide offline payment solutions using cards, wallets or mobile devices for remote or proximity payments. This move is aimed at addressing the needs of the large section of the population that lives in remote areas and towns where internet connectivity is poor, or even non-existent.
The upper limit of a payment transaction shall be Rs 200, although the total limit for offline transactions on an instrument will be Rs 2,000, at any point of time and the PSO shall send real time transaction alerts to users as soon as transaction details are received.
Contactless payments shall adhere to EMV standards, as hitherto and before introducing operations under the scheme, PSOs shall inform Reserve Bank the detailed specifications of the payment solutions they would offer. They may, however, launch operations without waiting for any approval from the Reserve Bank.
The pilot scheme shall be undertaken till March 31, 2021, only and RBI, shall decide on formalizing the system based on the experience gained under the pilot.
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