Bharat BillPay crosses over 1 crore customers

Bharat BillPay Tuesday said its bill payment platform has drawn over one crore customers here. Since the launch of Bharat BillPay in October last year, the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI)has enabled 107 billers across the country without 2.4 million agent outlets, chief project officer of the Bharat Bill Payment System A R Ramesh told reporters here. The Bangalore Electricity Supply Company (Bescom), Bengaluru Water Supply and Sewerage Board (BWSSB), Gulbarga Electricity Supply Company, Chamundeshwari Electricity Supply Company and Hubli Electricity Supply Company are part of Bharat BillPay, he said.

Bescom has partnered with Vijaya Bank for Bharat BillPay which has increased accessibility of consumers to the biller on various channels, he said. Also, BWSSB is one of the new billers that is on-board for the first time on an inter-operable bill payment ecosystem through Canara Bank, Ramesh said. A Bescom official told reporters that the total number of consumers paying bills through Bharat BillPay was 26,900 and the number has grown to 12 lakh in September 2018.

It was decided that the Bharat BillPay system would be publicised so that people can shift to paying bills through this secure and easy bill payment system. The Bharat Bill Payment System is a Reserved Bank of India's (RBI) conceptualised ecosystem managed by the NPCI. It offers bill payment service to consumers through a network of agents/retail shops/bank-branches and digital channels like internet banking, mobile apps, websites of banks and non-bank entities. Presently, 62 banks and 10 non-bank entities function as Bharat Bill Payment Operating Units in the country, NPCI officials said.