NRIs can now pay for bills in India directly

The Reserve Bank of India has enabled Non-Resident Indians (NRI) to pay bills in India directly. Now cross-border inward payments. through Bharat Bill payment system (BBPS) has been enabled. Earlier, payments through BBPS were only available to customers in India.

The Reserve Bank has proposed to enable BBPS to accept cross-border inward payments to facilitate NRIs' to pay for utility, education and other bills on behalf of their families in India. "This will also benefit the payment of bills of any biller onboarded on the BBPS platform in an interoperable manner,” the RBI said in a statement on Developmental and Regulatory Policies.

Experts see this as a positive way as it will ease the way for remittance to Indian institutions.

"We will know more about the operational aspects once RBI shares the detailed instructions. The remittances will be in foreign currency, and the exchange rates are expected to be fixed and made available transparently. There will be an associated fee, but the modalities of its implementation are still awaited," said Adhil Shetty, CEO of BankBazaar.com.

The BBPS is a payment system developed by the RBI and operated by theNational Payments Corporation of India (NPCI). It is a one-stop ecosystem for paying all bills, offering clients across India an interoperable and accessible. According to NPCI’s website, BBPS is an “anytime anywhere bill payment service to all customers across India with certainty, reliability and safety of transactions.”

Payments for bills can be made through various payment modes through Bharat BillPay. Cards (credit, debit, and prepaid), NEFT internet banking, UPI, wallets, Aadhar-based payments, and cash are the payment modes supported by the ecosystem.

With BBPS, customers can pay a variety of utility bills, such as those for electricity, telecom, DTH, gas, and water, as well as other recurring payments, such as mutual fund premiums, insurance premiums, school and institution fees, credit card payments, fastag recharges, local taxes, and housing society dues, at a single window.

To assist customers with any issues relating to their bills with BBPS, an efficient system for processing customer complaints has also been put in place.

BBPS is currently accessible only to residents in India. Now, RBI has enabled BBPS to accept cross-border inward payments. This means that NRI relatives can pay bills in India for their family, friends or themselves.

These payments can be made through credit, debit and prepaid cards, NEFT internet banking, UPI, wallets, Aadhar-based payments and cash.

RBI said it would provide the necessary instructions shortly.