RBI Launches 'Har Payment Digital' To Make Every Citizen A User Of Digital Payments

Shaktikanta Das appealed to all stakeholders, banks, non-banks, payment system operators, digital payment users, to adopt digital payments and teach others about the merits of using digital payments

Shaktikanta Das, the governor of Reserve Bank of India (RBI), on Monday launched the Mission ‘Har Payment Digital’ on the occasion of the Digital Payments Awareness Week (DPAW) 2023. This is part of the RBI’s endeavour to make every person in India a user of digital payments. DPAW 2023 will be observed from March 6 to 12, 2023. The campaign theme is “Digital Payment Apnao, Auron ko bhi Sikhao” (Adopt digital payments and also teach others).

According to the release by the central bank, digital payments offer benefits of speed, convenience, safety and security. The existing infrastructure has made digital payments available and accessible, but it is necessary to create more awareness which can increase acceptance and enhance adoption. While launching the mission “Har Payment Digital”, Das appealed to all the stakeholders – banks, non-banks, payment system operators, digital payment users, etc. – to adopt digital payments and teach others about the merits of using digital payments. This would encourage every person to become a digital payment user.

During the DPAW 2023, RBI’s regional offices will be conducting awareness and outreach programmes which will also form part of ‘Jan Bhagidari’ events under the Indian G20 presidency. Similar initiatives will be undertaken by the bank and non-bank payment system operators.

The RBI will also initiate a ‘75 Digital Villages’ programme in observance of 75 years of Independence. Under this programme, Payment System Operators (PSOs) will adopt 75 villages across the country and convert them into digital payment enabled villages.

While digital payments have skyrocketed during the past few years, a significant portion of the population still does not use digital payments for day-to-day transactions. The mission aims to bridge this gap, the governor said.

Forty-two per cent of 90,000 respondents in an RBI survey said that they had used digital payments; 35 per cent said they were non-users though aware of digital payments, while 23 per cent weren't aware of digital payments.

Considering the benefits that digital payments bring to the country, it is necessary to create more awareness and further increase the usage of digital payments, RBI said. Hence, the RBI has been observing a targeted campaign – DPAW -- every year as part of the continuous efforts towards increasing financial awareness.

The RBI will launch "Har Payment Digital" (HPD) mission that would run till the period of Vision 2025, with an intention to convert the non-users into users of digital payments. Vision 2025 has its theme as "E-Payments for Everyone, Everywhere and Everytime".

From this week onwards, RBI in collaboration with the banks and other stakeholders of the payment systems will carry out a multimodal campaign covering print, television, radio, and social media during the week on the theme, ‘Adopt digital payments and teach others also’.