Umbrella Entity Framework Reimagining The Role Of Private Participants In Payment Systems

Introduction

Over the recent years, cashless payments have become one of the preferred modes of retail transaction in India - particularly in urban markets. For instance, UPI, a real time fund transfer interface, has significantly scaled-up since its launch, growing from 0.09 million transactions worth 30.9 million in the month of August 2016 (when it launched) to clocking 56 billion transactions worth INR 2.85 trillion in the month of August 2020. While the impetus on cashless payments was fuelled in part by focussed government campaigns, the current challenges stemming from the Covid-19 pandemic have perhaps made cashless modes of payment the most dependable option for consumers and retailers across most cities in India - the implication being that the cashless payment industry is poised to double to $135.2 billion by 2023.