NPCI rolls out inter-bank service for merchant payments

National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) has launched an inter-bank mobile payment service (IMPS) for merchant payments. This is aimed at making mobile payments to merchants and enterprises easier.

IMPS, a platform created by NPCI in collaboration with 50 member-banks, will enable payment services such as online ticket booking, mobile/DTH recharge, among others. The customers will need to register with the IMPS. At present, some six of the 50 member-banks of NPCI permit SMS-based payment service. About 2.2 lakh transactions have been put through in the last two months. “We have a ‘modest’ target of about one million IMPS transactions per month by March 2013, said A. P. Hota, Managing Director and CEO, NPCI. Currently, merchants such as IRCTC, LIC, Coca-Cola, Asian Paints, among others, are registered with IMPS.