UPI was built as a layer on top of which existing payment system?
- A.RTGS
- B.NEFT
- C.IMPS
- D.NACH
Correct answer
Explanation
The correct answer is C, IMPS. The Immediate Payment Service, launched in 2010, already moved money between banks instantly at every hour, and UPI uses that rail while adding the virtual payment address, interoperable applications and single click authentication. Option A is wrong because RTGS is a large value system run by the Reserve Bank in which each transaction settles individually and a minimum of two lakh rupees applies. Option B is wrong because NEFT, also run by the Reserve Bank, settles in batches rather than instantly, so it could not have supported the instant experience of UPI. Option D is wrong because NACH is a bulk clearing system for salaries, subsidies and instalments and is not a person to person transfer rail. The point of the question is to separate the rail from the interface built over it.
Read the full article: NPCI, UPI and RuPay: Retail Payment Systems of India
Practice Questions
View allThe National Payments Corporation of India was incorporated in which year?
- A.2005
- B.2008
- C.2012
- D.2016
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NPCI was incorporated in 2008 as a not for profit company under Section 25 of the Companies Act, 1956 to act as the umbrella organisation for all retail payment systems in India, and it began by taking over the National Financial Switch the following year.
Read the full explanation →NPCI was promoted by the Reserve Bank of India along with which other body?
- A.Securities and Exchange Board of India
- B.Indian Banks Association
- C.NITI Aayog
- D.Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology
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NPCI was set up on the initiative of the Reserve Bank of India together with the Indian Banks Association, and ten core promoter banks held its first shareholding, which is why it is owned by the banking industry rather than by the government.
Read the full explanation →The Unified Payments Interface was launched in which year?
- A.2010
- B.2012
- C.2016
- D.2019
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UPI was launched by NPCI in 2016, and the BHIM application followed in December of the same year, which is why 2016 is the single most asked year in this topic.
Read the full explanation →In UPI, a virtual payment address is used so that the payer does not have to share which details?
- A.The bank account number and IFSC
- B.The Aadhaar number
- C.The PAN
- D.The mobile handset number
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A virtual payment address takes the form of a name followed by a bank handle and acts as a pointer to the underlying account, so a payment can be made or collected without revealing the account number or the branch code.
Read the full explanation →RuPay is best described as:
- A.A mobile wallet run by the Reserve Bank
- B.India's domestic card payment network
- C.A digital currency issued by the RBI
- D.An international remittance service
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RuPay was launched by NPCI in 2012 so that debit and credit card transactions between Indian cardholders and Indian merchants are authorised and settled within the country instead of being switched abroad, and its name joins Rupee with Payment.
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