New Delhi, Business Desk . The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has allowed payment of small amount on a pilot basis ‘offline’ i.e. without internet card and mobile. Under this, up to Rs 200 can be paid at a time. This will facilitate customers in places where connectivity to the internet is less. That is, internet connection will not be required for payment in this way. It was announced by Reserve Bank Governor Shaktikanta Das. According to the notification issued in this context, ‘Payment System Operators’ (PSOs) … banks and non-banks … can offer offline digital payments under the pilot scheme.
According to the central bank notification, payments under the pilot scheme can be made through card, wallet or mobile devices or any other means. No other type of verification will be required for this. The maximum limit for single payment will be Rs 200. However, through this, there will be a limit of total payment up to Rs 2,000 at any given time. The scheme will run till 31 March 2021.
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How does offline payment work
Payment can be done through card, wallet or mobile devices or any other channel.
Payment can be made in remote or proximity mode.
Payment transactions can be done without any additional factor authentication (AFA).
The upper limit for payment transactions will be Rs 200.
The total limit for offline transactions on any device at any given time will be Rs 2,000.
With AFA the limit will be allowed to be reset in online mode.
As soon as the transaction details are received, PSO will send transaction alerts on real time to the users.
Contactless payment will follow EMV standards.
Without AFA, payment transactions in offline mode will be at the users’ choice.
RBI said that lack of internet or its low speed is a major obstacle in the path of digital payment, especially in remote areas. In view of this, the option of offline payment through cards, wallets and mobile devices is being made available which is expected to give a further boost to digital payments.
