RBI’s Revolutionary Decision Will Change Everything About Mobile Wallets In India!

And, the decks are cleared, and the path has been cemented. Reserve Bank of India or RBI is about to take a historic decision which will unleash a new revolution in the nascent mobile wallets niche in India.

Interoperability or the ability to seamlessly transfer funds between two different mobile wallets would be soon allowed, triggering a new wave of growth and user engagement.

Want to know why this is a game changer? Keep on reading!

RBI Will Allow Interoperability Of Mobile Wallets!

As per ET’s exclusive report, RBI will allow interoperability between mobile wallets within a month. Insider sources have revealed that right now RBI is finalizing the protocols, and a notification regarding this would be announced by July end.

As per reports, NPCI or The National Payments Corporation of India has given its green signal, pertaining to security aspects.

An unnamed source said,

“The National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) has already cleared the safety security aspects of taking wallets onto the interoperable platform. The RBI is ironing out a few final issues before releasing operational guidelines; this is expected to happen within a month from now,”

We had already reported last year that RBI is considering interoperability among mobile wallets, and a decision was expected in the month of April 2018.

Although it is 3 months late, better late than never!

KYC Is The Catalyst?

If we believe the reports, then the strict KYC compliance enforced by RBI for all mobile wallet users proved to be a catalyst, which ultimately triggered the interoperability aspect.

In the month of February, we had reported that the strict KYC rules for mobile wallets can immobilize 90% of the users, as they haven’t completed their KYC.

Digital businesses & mobile wallets all across reported heavy loss as high as 95% and the industry was shaken.

But eventually, it seems that the KYC rule helped because it encouraged the implementation of interoperability of apps. Due to security reasons, RBI may consider allowing interoperability only for those users who have completed their KYC for mobile wallets.

Mobile wallet players already knew this fact, and now, they are waiting with baited breath regarding the final green signal.

One of the unnamed official from a mobile wallet company said,

“We were told that with full KYC we would eventually be given wallet interoperability which will make our systems almost at par with bank payment applications and Unified Payment Interface. Till that happens, our business is facing stress,”

How Interoperability Changes Everything?

Once interoperability is allowed, there would be two ways entire mobile wallet industry will benefit:

1. Existing users of mobile wallets would feel the difference, as they can now use funds parked in various wallets easily, and seamlessly. This will trigger more usage of mobile wallets, thereby benefiting the entire ecosystem.
2. New users will enroll for different mobile wallets, and the usage will boom because now, mobile wallets would be treated just like an ATM: One wallet can be used anywhere. Inclusion of more new users will be overall beneficial for the Rs 12,000 crore mobile wallet industry.

As of now, RBI is waiting for the final technical compatibility among all the mobile wallets, before issuing the final approval.

Will your usage of mobile wallets increase after interoperability is allowed? Do let us know by commenting right here!