The Digital India movement has gained popularity and went from strength to strength in the last three years. This was further catalyzed by the Covid-19 pandemic when everyone was compelled to get habituated to online modes. From academic to retail, from banking to tourism, every sector had to refurbish its infrastructure to welcome digitalization, the new normal.

Online payments have also gained new legs in the last three years. A survey reveals that India recorded online payments of INR 20.7 billion in the 2018-19 financial year. The figure now stands at a whopping number of INR 239.66 billion (expected to reach this figure by the end of the 2021-22 financial year).

The introduction of E-Rupi is to revolutionize the cash-lite economy structure proposed by the Reserve Bank of India. Continue reading to know more about E-Rupi, its features, and its benefits.

What is E-Rupi?

E-Rupi is the new-age solution for digital payments. You can buy, send and redeem vouchers using E-Rupi at any retail location. It is typically delivered to a beneficiary through SMS or a QR code. This effortless and totally contactless prepaid payment method is simple, secure, and safe. The overall purpose of it is to:

• Ensuring there is no intervention of middlemen and no leakage of funds interim
• Connecting service providers, issuers, and recipients electronically without requiring to meet physically or in person

Beneficiaries can use these E-Rupi coupons without a card, an online payment app, or net banking.

How Does E-Rupi Work?

There are two ways to look at this.

• E-Rupi vouchers: How are they created?
• E-Rupi utilization: How are these vouchers redeemed?

Let’s inspect both of them closely.

It’s really easy to obtain E-Rupi vouchers.

1. Numerous banks from the public and commercial sectors have been boarded by the Indian government. These banks will serve as the main issuers of E-Rupi vouchers.
2. Corporate entities or governmental organizations must contact these authorized banks in order to receive E-Rupi vouchers. Then, a designated bank will produce customized vouchers.
3. The vouchers will be sent to the recipients via SMS or as a QR code.

Redeeming an E-Rupi voucher is also quite easy and straightforward. Here’s an instance to demonstrate how to redeem vouchers via E-Rupi

1. A customer buys something from a department store.
2. The retailer chooses to give the customer a one-time prepaid voucher as a mark of appreciation.
3. The department store sends a QR code or an SMS with the E-Rupi voucher information right away to the customer’s registered cellphone number.
4. With E-Rupi, the customer can now use this certificate to pay for their subsequent purchases at the department store.
5. In addition, the customer may redeem it as instructed by the department store and at any other merchant location that accepts E-Rupi.

Features and Benefits of Using E-Rupi

The operational intent is growing along with the practical application of E-Rupi. Corporates and other stakeholders are now reaping the benefits of this voucher-based system, which was previously solely used by government organizations to provide benefits to recipients.

Private organizations can make use of E-Rupi to reward their staff members or even use these e-vouchers in their Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) programs. In addition, E-RUPI is extensively used in education, healthcare, and other related sectors.

• Each E-Rupi coupon will have a specific time of validity. Currently, each voucher has a maximum validity duration of 1 year from the date it is issued.
• Instead of being a one-time redeemable voucher in the past, beneficiaries are now permitted to utilize a single coupon repeatedly until it is entirely redeemed.
• E-Rupi has an INR 1 lakh per voucher upper cap. The previous cap limit was set at INR 10,000.

As the government has made E-Rupi an open-to-all system, you should make the most of it.