What is eRUPI? Understanding in simple terms

Infoman

PM Narendra Modi spoke about eRUPI. Everyone is thinking that it is a digital currency, but it's not. eRUPI can be considered as a voucher that can be redeemed in specific units like pharmacies, educational institutions, etc.

Vouchers in daily life:

To understand eRUPI let us consider common vouchers that we use in our daily lives. For example, we use BookMyShow vouchers which can be redeemed. That means if you have the voucher or the coupon code, you can redeem that amount for that specific purpose to buy tickets. The important point here is that you can use the voucher only on the BookMyShow platform. You cannot use the voucher on other platforms or offline stores.

Where eRUPI can be used?

The same is the case of eRUPI. The Government issues eRUPI vouchers to the public and the public can redeem these vouchers. For example, if Government gives money to the public to buy masks to stop the spreading of covid, then there is a high probability that the public uses that amount for different purposes other than buying masks. To avoid this, if Government issues eRUPI vouchers for the purpose of buying masks in Pharmaucitical stores, then the public moves to pharmacies and redeems those vouchers for masks. So that specific voucher can only be used for buying masks and not for another purpose. The government provides money to those pharmacies for the number of vouchers that were redeemed.

Another area where eRUPI vouchers can be used is in subsidies. What happens in government subsidies is that there are middlemen who wrongly showcase the persons who do not even exist and they claim the subsidies on behalf of those non-existing persons. This way the government is losing millions of money. With the introduction of eRUPI, the vouchers can be used by the real citizens and the real beneficiaries get benefitted. No middlemen can misuse the system.

If the government needs to provide books to students and for that purpose, if the government releases money to the students, there is no guarantee that the students use that amount for buying books. If the eRUPI vouchers are provided instead of supplying money, then students can only use those vouchers for that specific purpose of buying books and not any other.

There can be n no. of applications of this eRUPI. This voucher system revolutionizes the entire government subsidiary system, scholarships and many other.

Features of eRUPI:

  • eRUPI is a digital voucher and not a physical voucher.
  • eRUPI exists in QR code format or in the form of SMS code.
  • eRUPI is developed by NPCI (National Payments Corporation of India)

Advantages of eRUPI:

  • The vouchers can be used even by persons who do not have a bank account. Having these vouchers is like holding money for a specific purpose.
  • People who does not have smart phones can also use these vouchers as eRUPI works on SMS technology too. Having an eRUPI SMS or voucher QR code is the same.
  • There will be no leakage of money from the system.
  • High security in the transactions.

Banks live with eRUPI:

No Bank Name Issuer Acquirer Acquiring App/Entity
1 Axis Bank ✔ ✔ Bharat Pe
2 Bank of Baroda ✔ ✔ BHIM Baroda Merchant Pay
3 Canara Bank ✔   NA
4 HDFC Bank ✔ ✔ HDFC Business App
5 ICICI Bank ✔ ✔ Bharat Pe & PineLabs
6 Indusind Bank ✔   NA
7 Indian Bank ✔   NA
8 Kotak Bank ✔   NA
9 Punjab National Bank ✔ ✔ PNB Merchant Pay
10 State Bank of India ✔ ✔ YONO SBI Merchant
11 Union Bank of India ✔   NA