Govt announces scheme to incentivize digital payments
The scheme proposes to ensure two levels of incentive amounts for all consumers, merchants using digital payments
New Delhi: With an aim to further boost to the adoption of cashless transactions across all the sections of the society, the government on Saturday announced the launch of a new scheme to incentivize digital payments.
The scheme proposes to ensure two levels of incentive amounts for all the consumers and merchants using digital payments. There will a weekly lucky draw of the transaction IDs generated each week and also a quarterly draw for grand prizes.
NITI Aayog has requested National Payment Corporation of India (NPCI) to conceptualize this scheme to provide incentives to the poor, lower middle class and small businesses to encourage them to adopt digital modes of payments like unified payments interface (UPI), Unstructured Supplementary Service Data (USSD), Aadhaar-enabled payments system, electronic wallets, debit and credit cards.
NPCI is the umbrella organization for all retail payments systems in India and is charged with a responsibility of guiding India towards being a cashless society.
The detailed guidelines of the scheme are yet to be unveiled but it will ensure that all those who have used digital payment systems after 8 November shall be eligible to participate in it.
The provision of digital literacy to semi-urban and rural sector of the economy has become the major focus area for the government since Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced the recall of Rs500 and Rs1,000 notes on 8 November.
The scheme would also provide for recognition of state governments, their undertakings, districts and urban and rural local bodies who innovate for promoting electronic payment in their respective jurisdictions.
On Friday, the government had also launched DigiShala, a free Doordarshan channel and a website (www.cashlessindia.gov.in) to enable every citizen, small trader and merchant to adopt digital payments in their everyday financial transactions.
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