Recommendations of Ratan Watal Committee for Digital Payments

Recommendations of Ratan Watal Committee for Digital Payments The Committee on Digital Payments headed by Ratan P. Watal has submitted its final report to the Union Finance Ministry. It was 11-member committee notified in August 2016 by the Finance Ministry. It was tasked to review existing payment systems in the country and recommend appropriate measures for encouraging Digital

Payments. It was having representatives from Reserve Bank of India (RBI), Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI), tax department and various industry bodies in the payments space. Recommendations The Committee has recommended medium term strategy for accelerating growth of Digital Payments in India. The strategy must be backed with regulatory regime which is conducive to bridging the Digital divide by promoting competition, interoperability and open access in payments. It also recommends inclusion of financially and socially excluded groups and assimilation of emerging technologies in the market. It calls for need of safeguarding security of Digital Transactions and providing level playing to all stakeholders and new players who will enter this new transaction space. It has suggested inter-operability of payments system between banks and non-banks, up-gradation of digital payment infrastructure and institutions. It also recommends a framework to reward innovations for leading efforts in enabling digital payments.