Prepaid Payment Instrument For Mass Transit Systems Introduced

In the view of achieving the vision of less-cash society, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), on July 09, 2015, issued a circular RBI/2015-16/123, to bring under its regulations a new category of semi-closed Prepaid Payment Instruments (PPIs).

Under mass transit systems (MTS), as public at large are involved, a number of small value cash payments transactions take place. The RBI has introduced a new category of instrument i.e. in form of cards which shall be issued by the MTS operators (like railway, bus or taxi service providers), so that it can be used in the transportation within these systems. The RBI had been receiving requests from various segments of mass transit service providers, such as metro train and road transport services, indicating the need for introduction of prepaid instruments in this segment, to enhance the public convenience.