RBI allows pre-sanctioned credit lines through UPI

NEW DELHI: The Reserve Bank on Monday said the UPI System will also include pre-sanctioned credit lines issued by banks for transactions.

Earlier, only the deposited amount could be transacted through the UPI System. In April, the RBI proposed to expand the scope of the Unified Payments Interface (UPI) by enabling transfer to/from pre-sanctioned credit lines at banks. Currently, savings accounts, overdraft accounts, prepaid wallets and credit cards can be linked to UPI. The scope of UPI is now being expanded by the inclusion of credit lines as a funding account, it said in a circular on 'Operation of Pre-Sanctioned Credit Lines at Banks through UPI'.

''Under this facility, payments through a pre-sanctioned credit line issued by a Scheduled Commercial Bank to individuals, with the prior consent of the individual customer, are enabled for transactions using the UPI System,'' the RBI said.

This can reduce the cost and help in the development of unique products for Indian markets.

UPI, used for immediate money transfer through mobile devices round the clock, transactions crossed the 10-billion-mark in August. The number of UPI transactions in July was 9.96 billion (996.4 crore) and 9.33 billion in June.