E-mandates framework extended to Fastag, UPI Lite payments

With a view to deepening the digital payments ecosystem and as part of its efforts towards financial inclusion the Reserve Bank of India governor today announced extending the e-mandates framework to other non-periodic recurring payments such as Fastag and for UPI Lite.

Payments such as replenishment of balances in Fastag and National Common Mobility Card, which are recurring in nature, will be brought under the framework of e-mandates. This will ensure that the balances in the wallets for such payments will be automatically refilled.

“This will enable customers to automatically replenish the balances in Fastag, NCMC, etc. if the balance goes below the threshold limit set by them,” RBI governor said in the monetary policy statement. “This will enhance convenience in making travel, mobility related payments.”

UPI Lite was launched in 2022 to make it convenient for small value payments to be made through an on-device wallet. To encourage wider adoption of UPI Lite, the RBI has proposed to bring it under the e-mandate framework by introducing a facility for customers to automatically replenish their UPI Lite wallets if
the balance goes below the threshold limit set by them.

This will further enhance the ease of making small value digital payments.