NEW DELHI: The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) is preparing a pilot project on QR code-based coin vending machine (QCVM). This project will be introduced in 12 cities. “These vending machines will dispense coins against debit to the customer’s account using UPI instead of physical tendering of banknotes. This will enhance the ease of accessibility to coins,” said RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das in his monetary policy address on Wednesday.
The central bank, based on the learnings from the pilot, will issue guidelines to banks to promote distribution of coins using these machines.
Also, with UPI becoming popular for retail digital payments in India, the RBI has proposed to permit all inbound travellers to India to use UPI for their merchant payments (P2M) while they are in the country.
“To begin with, this facility will be extended to travellers from G-20 countries arriving at select international airports,” Das said.
CA Manish P Hingar, founder at Fintoo said the proposal can be extremely beneficial as it will make it easier and more convenient for international travellers to make payments while in India, without having to carry large amounts of cash or convert their money into the local currency. UPI is a success story in India as it clocked 7,400 crore digital payments worth Rs 126 lakh crore in 2022.