Digital Payment Promotion Board needed to promote digital payments in India: CAIT

New Delhi, July 10 (KNN) With the aim to promote digital payments in India, the government should consider setting up a Digital Payment Promotion Board, the Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT) Secretary General, Praveen Khandelwal said on Sunday. 

The traders body also suggested that the National Payment Corporation ( NPCI) should run UPI, Bheem etc and a separate Regulatory Authority should be set up for monitoring and regulate the payment Industry.

The Non-Banking Finance Companies & Micro Finance Institutions should also be brought under the landscape of digital payments to install white label POS terminals by encouraging a scheme to subsidize POS terminals directly or indirectly across both urban and rural areas, Khandelwal said in a press release.

The CAIT Secretary General said that when open network is being created as a policy by the Government, then payment industry should also be given open network ensuring best services to the users. Undoubtable, the RuPay has played an important role in the country. 
 
CAIT National President Mr B C Bhartia said that it is essential that the Union Government should subsidies transaction charges levied on digital payments to the banks directly to avoid any financial burden either on the traders or the consumers.

The burden of transaction charges is one of the major deterrent in adoption and acceptance of digital payments in the country and steps are needed to incentivise usage of digital payments. It will also help the efforts for bringing informal economy to formal economy, CAIT said.

The trader’s association also suggested that on usage of ATMs beyond three times in a month, a nominal fee should be levied for subsequent cash withdrawal at ATMs.

“Further, an incentive scheme for greater usage of digital payments needs to be introduced and all sorts of debit and credit cards all other mode of digital payments including POS terminals, M-POS, mobile wallets, mobile applications, QR code, UPI & Aadhar enabled applications should be brought under the ambit of incentive schemes,” it said.
 
Khandelwal further added that the Government had drafted an incentive proposal in August, 2015 which spells out certain tax benefits and waiver of transaction costs charged by Banks. While urging the Government to implement said proposals, he said that proposal to provide incentives to shopkeepers accepting payments in business transactions through digital payments will encourage traders to embrace e-payment system.

KNN Bureau