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RBI has extended the Payments Infrastructure Development Fund (PIDF) scheme by another two years till December 31, 2025. It will now include beneficiaries of the PM Vishwakarma scheme.
“The decision to expand the targeted beneficiaries under the PIDF scheme will provide a fillip to the Reserve Bank’s efforts towards promoting digital transactions at the grassroots level,” it said.
The PIDF Scheme was operationalised in January 2021 for three years to incentivise the deployment of payment acceptance infrastructure such as physical Point of Sale (PoS), Quick Response (QR) codes in tier-3 to tier-6 centres, the north-eastern states and Union Territories of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh.
Beneficiaries of the PM SVANidhi Scheme in Tier-1 and 2 centres were later included in August 2021. As of August 2023, over 2.66 crore new touch-points have been deployed under the Scheme, the central bank said.
It added that based on feedback received from industry, the PIDF scheme will look to encourage deployment of emerging modes of payment acceptance, such as soundbox devices and Aadhaar-enabled biometric devices, to further accelerate and augment the deployment of payment acceptance infrastructure in the targeted geographies.
“This move aligns with the ever-evolving needs of the industry and paves the way for financial inclusion and crucial support to artisans and craftspeople through end-to-end assistance,” said Rajsri Rengan, India Head of Development, Banking and Payments at FIS, adding that RBI has been proactive in bolstering the digital payments ecosystem.
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