Juspay launches OpenPPI ahead of RBI’s deadline for interoperability

Juspay Technologies has launched OpenPPI to assist Prepaid Payment Instruments (PPI) like digital wallets and comply with Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) interoperability regulation.  

Juspay claims that the existing and prospective PPI players can comply with the new regulation by using this end-to-end secure cloud solution. The company also said that the OpenPPI solution will enable interoperability through UPI for PPIs. 

As per the RBI, PPIs are payment instruments that facilitate the purchase of goods and services against the value stored on such instruments and can be issued as smart cards, magnetic stripe cards, internet accounts, internet wallets, mobile accounts, mobile wallets, paper vouchers, etc. 

Sheetal Lalwani, Co-Founder & COO of Juspay, said, “Interoperability essentially means that your wallet can now act as your bank account enabling you to transfer money from wallets or cards seamlessly. It opens up multiple possibilities for wallet usage — a person can now scan any UPI QR code and pay with their Wallet balance instead of using their bank account through UPI.” 

The RBI had issued a mandate in May 2021 that all prepaid cards and wallets that are full-KYC-compliant, have to be fully interoperable by March 31, 2022.   

So, irrespective of the issuer of the PPI card or the e-wallet, a user can use the card/e-wallet at any payment acceptance point. 

Citing market reports, Juspay claims that Prepaid instruments today account for one-fifth of digital payments and are expected to more than double in the next 3-4 years. The new regulation will accelerate the migration of small and convenience payments from cash to PPI instruments and wallets, as per Juspay. 

“Interoperability of prepaid instruments like wallets, is going to convert them from a niche product to mass product. Sharing of infrastructure brings forth economies of scale in a tech-driven ecosystem. Achieving PPI interoperability through the cynosure of the payments world — the UPI — is a rhythm changing initiative,” said G Padmanabhan, former Executive Director of RBI.