RBI announces two entities for test phase of retail payments cohort; details here

The Reserve Bank of India has selected two entities for the test phase of the retail payments cohort under its regulatory sandbox. According to a press release on Monday, 5 September, the two entities that had been selected for the test phase were Precision Biometric India Pvt. Ltd. and HDFC Bank (in partnership with Swedish firm Crunchfish AB). The RBI had announced the opening of the ‘on tap’ application facility for online payments under the regulatory sandbox last year. “’This ‘On Tap’ facility is expected to help in continuous innovation and engagement with innovators and proactively respond to the dynamics of rapidly evolving FinTech scenario”, according to a press release by the Central Bank last year. Furthermore, the RBI, on Monday, also announced that the fifth cohort under the regulatory sandbox will be “theme-neutral”. It also stated that the Second Cohort on ‘Cross Border Payments’ is now also open for ‘On Tap’ applications. What is a regulatory sandbox? It refers to live testing of new services or products in a controlled environment. A regulatory sandbox allows financial services providers, innovators, regulators and customers to conduct field tests and collect data on the new financial innovations, while monitoring and containing the risks. The ‘On Tap’ facility had been included in the ‘Enabling Framework for Regulatory Sandbox’ in October 2021. As per the RBI’s press release, the two entities which have been selected for the test phase have the following products: Precision Biometric India Pvt. Ltd: The company is offering ‘InnalIT Key Solution for Banking’. The product provides solutions enabling biometric tokens which can be used instead of a One-Time Password for secure password-less authentication and Additional Factor Authentication while logging into mobile/internet banking. The plan being offered by the company combines biometrics and Public Key Infrastructure to enhance security as well as user experience in the digital payments arena. HDFC Bank: HDFC Bank, in partnership with Crunchfish AB, is offering ‘Offline Retail Payments’ which gives customers and merchants the option to be able to receive and make payments in offline mode. The product aims to boost adoption of digital payments in areas which have little or no network connection. Read all the Latest News , Trending News ,  Cricket News , Bollywood News , India News and Entertainment News here. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.