In its recently released report on 'Payment Systems in India - Vision 2009-12', the Reserve Bank of India has discussed initiatives it has taken and what it plans to do to improve security of cards, make ATMs more accessible to the public, make banking more accessible to the public, improve its efficiency, timings and reduce risks. It notes that the future is in mobile payments and offers its outlook on alternate methods to improve the Indian payments industry. Keeping in mind that e-commerce is a key driver for the digital space in India, the RBIs outlook is an indication of changes that can be expected in the next few years: Major Projects Envisioned In The Next 1-3 Yrs -- National Infrastructure For Mobile Payments: RBI expects mobiles to emerge as an important channel for payment instructions and intends to ensure real-time m-payments are facilitated using a nation-wide infrastructure. -- India's Own VISA: RBI is mulling the concept of a domestic payment card association and debit and credit cards to be called India Cards to reduce costs borne by Indian banks to international card associations. It has also noted that the implementation of a Point of Sales (SoS) switch in the country would eliminate the need to route domestic transactions through a switch located outside India, which is what happens currently. Domestic transactions account for 90% of total banking transactions in India. -- Stricter Authorisation Of Payment Systems: RBI will regulate all payment systems in operation and authorise any new ones only…
