FSS launches UPI eVoucher to advance financial inclusion

By Leandra Monteiro

FSS (Financial Software and Systems), a globally leading provider of integrated payment products and a payments processor, has enhanced its Unified Payment Interface (UPI) Suite to support eVouchers to accelerate digital payments adoption among financially underserved segments. The UPI eVoucher enables customers to transfer funds for a specific purpose in real-time to any mobile number, regardless of whether the beneficiary has a bank account.

The pandemic has accelerated the switch to digital payments by an approximate five to ten years in India. Underlining the growing demand for digital payment, India’s UPI processes a record 3.5 billion transactions monthly and represents the fastest growing payment rails in India.

Currently the adoption of UPI services is restricted amongst customers of participant banks. With the e-Voucher bank PSPs would be able to exploit the ubiquity of mobile telephony to reach unbanked users. Currently India has 1.1 billion mobile users, of which 500 million are in rural areas. As the eVouchers can be sent over mobile phone networks, through SMS or quick response (QR) codes, it eliminates need for investments by customers or merchants in additional infrastructure. Payment service providers (PSPs) can launch a range of customer-centric propositions including payroll services, supplier payments, gift vouchers and more.

Speaking on the launch, Jaishankar AL, CEO FSS PayTech said, “For three decades, FSS has been at the forefront of India’s digital revolution, enabling banks to build inclusive digital payment ecosystems that empower people, communities and economies. India’s UPI is globally recognised as the most advanced real-time payments infrastructure and accounts for an approximate 73% of total digital transaction volume within the country. The UPI platform is one of FSS’ flagship products and we are excited to launch the UPI eVoucher, enabling bank PSPs to bring new innovations that benefit multiple customer segments and strengthens India’s digital economy.”

For low-income, unbanked customers, the eVoucher functions as a source of funds and serves as an entry point into the digital system. The workings of the service are simple. To generate an eVoucher, customers can invoke the PSP’s UPI app or mobile banking app, specify beneficiary mobile details, amount, and merchant, where the voucher can be redeemed. At the backend, the FSS UPI system authorizes the transaction and transmits the voucher to the beneficiary’s mobile device in the form of a QR or a SMS numeric string.

FSS UPI platform is trusted by leading bank PSPs in the country. The FSS UPI platform supports standard interfaces for integration with third-party FinTechs systems. In addition, FSS UPI mobile SDK provides third party providers — banks, FinTechs, retailers, wallet providers – a quick out-of-the-box integration capability, for embedding UPI payments into existing apps. PSPs can launch a range of overlay services — QR Payments, Split Payments, Request to Pay, Corporate Payments, Transit Payments and AutoPay. FSS supports licensed and As-a-Service deployment models in line with PSP business needs. The industry benchmarked UPI system can process 6,600 transactions per second, delivering an assured quality of service in the wake of constantly surging transaction volumes.