Uncertainty over Cred, PhonePe credit card payments from July as RBI BBPS deadline looms

With the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) asking banks to settle all third-party credit card payments via its Bharat Bill Payment System (BBPS) platform by June 30, there is no clarity on whether payments on platforms such as Cred will work from July 1.

The new norms require all banks to be registered on the BBPS platform. Eight credit card companies, including SBI Card, Bank of Baroda (BoB) Card, Kotak Mahindra Bank Card have registered on BBPS.

But this leaves 26 others including leading card issuers such as HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank and Axis Bank, which are not yet registered, according to a media report. The three banks together have issued over 50 million credit cards, roughly half of the over 100 million credit cards in India.

On the other end, platforms such as Cred and PhonePe, which provide credit card payment services on their platforms, are already registered on BBPS.

Another media report said the industry has asked for an extension in the deadline by 90 days though it is not clear whether the Reserve Bank will agree.

Cred settles about 33% of all credit card payments in India, the company said in an update last year.

It is believed that credit card payments made through online banking channels such as mobile/netbanking, debit card, IMPS/NEFT payments or standing instructions will continue to work normally beyond June 30.

But fintech companies such as Cred and PhonePe will need banks to get empanelled with BBPS and then provide them access through application programming interfaces (APIs), which allow two tech systems to talk to one another – a process that may not be completed in the time left for implementation.

Companies such as Cred or PhonePe have not yet issued a statement on the issue.