Catastrophic events such as natural calamities and war have the potential to render existing conventional payment systems temporarily unavailable by disrupting the underlying information and communication infrastructure. 

Against this backdrop the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) is developing a lightweight and portable payment system designed to operate during exigencies such as natural calamities or war.

 The lightweight payment and settlements system is being called by the RBI a “bunker” equivalent of digital payments.

The infrastructure for this system will be independent of the technologies that underlie the existing systems of payments such as UPI, NEFT, and RTGS.

Lightweight and portable payment system is independent of conventional technologies and wired networks that underlie existing payment systems such as UPI (Unified Payments Interface), NEFT (National Electronic Funds Transfer), and RTGS (Real Time Gross Settlement).

Existing conventional payment systems like RTGS, NEFT and UPI are designed to handle large volumes while ensuring sustained availability. These systems are dependent on complex wired networks backed by advanced IT infrastructure.

What is NEFT

National Electronic Funds Transfer or NEFT is a nationwide payments system that allows transfer of funds from one bank’s account to another. 

What is RTGS

RTGS stands for Real Time Gross Settlement. It refers to a funds transfer system that allows the transfer of funds from one bank account to another in real-time and on a gross settlement basis.