The secret sauce of UPI

UPI—and a whole lot that is changing because of it, and around it—which is why Dilip Asbe, MD & CEO of NPCI, talks about why India is on to something—and why we need to be patient.

When the world is looking at us for the formula of creating something as game-changing and globally-fluid as the UPI, it is definitely tempting to pick some secrets from the guys who were there in the thick of all the action—shaping this new payment-denominator.

Winner of Dataquest Aatmanirbhar Champion Award NPCI was recognized for high-capacity cashless platforms, innovative large-scale payment technologies—and specially UPI.

Editor Sunil Rajguru swiped in some time with Dilip Asbe, Managing Director & CEO at National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) to get a glimpse of ‘how they did it’ and ‘what’s on their mind next’.

NPCI-nomics

“I strongly believe that UPI growth is a journey, and somewhere we are in between 25 to 30 per cent of the journey—the remaining path is still to be covered,” clarified a humble Asbe at the very outset. “We should now put our minds together to capture its true potential for the rest of the journey—because unless a majority of citizens are using a citizen-scale system like this – we are not done. There is a lot of work ahead for us—banks, FinTech, payment players etc. Everyone should get ready with systems for 100 crore transactions a day—as the RBI governor rightly encourages. We have done 30 crore as peak volume so far—but he is urging we can go 3X now. Rupay and UPI have become the identity of India – and that puts a lot of responsibility on our shoulders – let’s ensure that we do not let the country down.” He strongly believes in the bigger picture we need to see here.

We have done 30 crore as peak volume so far—but he is urging we can go 3X now. Rupay and UPI have become the identity of India – and that puts a lot of responsibility on our shoulders – let’s ensure that we do not let the country down.

The government and RBI’s vision is on self-sufficiency on global payments just the way we are in domestic payments. Is it possible to build strong cross-border pipes – specially with regions important from trade and travel stand-points? Those are the questions driving India now. NPCI, as an implementation agency, is on the road to build such bridges with a new international subsidiary.

Asbe explains how his team is working on helping other countries use our own stack – if they want.

And it’s a stack that’s truly fresh. It is open and it’s evolving well.

He adds: The next one or two years, we will see that the country will build bridges with a variety of countries at many levels—it will take time, the efforts are on the right track, we need patience.

Beyond UPI – security and digital currencies

NPCI also has many revolutionary products like BHIM, IMPS, Bharat QR and a lot more. The discussion covered those areas too.

The regulator’s principle of payment system is simple—customer’s choice. It can range from IMPS to wallets. When you look at E-commerce also – there is a choice of Internet banking and mobile banking. Multiple payment systems form a great architecture from both choice and risk management angles. The entire infrastructure, application-server tracks and isolation of payment systems as per security needs are also vital aspects of these innovations.

Huge investments are required on a continuous basis – in processes, skills and tools – to create a robust system that is ready to detect, respond and prevent attacks—recommends Asbe. “Those are the principles we adopt at NPCI. The chain is, however, as strong as its weakest link. So we need a lot of industry-level collaboration. Continuous enhancements in ecosystem are required. This area should be well-invested in- and well ahead of time,” he stressed.

Asbe also shared his musings on digital currency. “Digital currency is a great alternative to physical cash—as a tokenized asset, for its programmability and smart contract potential. But it takes time to nurture any technology—and to make it acceptable to the ecosystem. It’s a great start and pilot by the government. Let’s give it five to seven years—people will take time to shift. Slowly, awareness will build and people will appreciate the digital form—especially when there are issues like soiling of notes, counterfeiting around.

Is NPCI putting its weight behind Blockchain, Rajguru wondered. “Yes—too early to speak about it. We have a Blockchain practice. As a Deep Tech organization, emerging technologies are strong aspirations—and we want to innovate more and execute faster. Our endeavour is to keep technology-first approach intact,” Asbe shared.

With 14 years of making such marks at NPCI, Asbe is definitely optimistic and excited about the journey. ‘It’s never a dull moment at NPCI – with a committed leadership team, with people who bond towards a common purpose, with the aim to make impact on citizens. I and my team believe that there is a lot more to be done.”

No dull moments ahead for sure—with UPI and more being minted well in India.

(Catch the complete interview on the Dataquest India YouTube channel)

pratimah@cybermdia.co.in