NRIs can pay utility bills using Bharat Bill Payment System

Non-Resident Indians can now use Bharat Bill Payment System to pay utility bills and education fees on behalf of their family members in India, according to a Reserve Bank of India circular.

The Bharat Bill Payment System (BBPS) is an interoperable platform for standardised bill payments. Over 20,000 billers are part of the system, and more than 8 crore transactions are processed on a monthly basis.

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"...it has been decided to allow foreign inward remittances received under the Rupee Drawing Arrangement (RDA), to be transferred to the KYC compliant bank account of the biller (beneficiary) through Bharat Bill Payment System (BBPS)," the RBI said on Thursday.

An announcement in this regard was made by RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das last month.

Das had said the move will enable NRIs to undertake bill payments for utility, education and other such payments on behalf of their families in India, and "greatly benefit" the senior citizens in particular.

Currently, foreign inward remittances received under Rupee Drawing Arrangement (RDA) can be transferred to the KYC compliant beneficiary bank accounts through only electronic mode, such as, NEFT, and IMPS.