BENGALURU: The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) will soon launch a pilot project on QR Code based Coin Vending Machine (QCVM). This pilot 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.
UPI is a success story in India as it clocked 7,400 crore digital payments worth Rs 126 lakh crore in 2022.
According to the Economic Survey, on average, between FY19 and FY22 CY, growth in UPI-based transactions in value and volume terms have been 121% and 115%, respectively. In December 2022, UPI touched its highest-ever mark with 782 crore transactions worth Rs 12.8 lakh crore.
On Tuesday, Paytm Payments Bank Limited (PPBL) introduced RuPay Credit Card on UPI. Digital payment company PhonePe has also launched support for 'UPI international' payments.
The company said that this feature allows PhonePe's Indian users traveling abroad to instantly pay foreign merchants using UPI.