RBI To Roll Out Mobile App For Retail Investors To Invest In Govt Securities

Reserve Bank of India Governor Shaktikanta Das has announced the launch of a dedicated mobile application that will enable retail investors to participate in government securities (G-Secs) or government bonds market.

“The RBI Retail Direct Scheme was launched in November 2021. It is now proposed to launch a mobile app for accessing the Retail Direct portal. This will be of greater convenience to retail investors and deepen the G-sec market,” the central bank said.

Das, who was announcing the first bi-monthly monetary policy for the current fiscal, said that adding an app for easing the opening of gilt accounts would streamline access to the Retail Direct portal.

“It will enhance convenience for retail investors and foster deeper engagement with the G-Secs market,” he said.

The investment options within the scheme cover both primary and secondary markets. In the primary market, investors can take part through the non-competitive scheme in government securities auctions, following the guidelines for SGB issuance.

In the secondary market, investors can buy and sell government securities through the NDS-OM platform, including the ‘Odd Lot’ and ‘Request for Quotes’ segments.

Meanwhile, RBI has proposed the deposit of cash in cash deposit machines through UPI, as well as the making of UPI payments through Prepaid Payment Instruments (PPI) wallets.

“Deposit of cash through Cash Deposit Machines (CDMs) is primarily being done through the use of debit cards. Given the experience gained from card-less cash withdrawal using UPI at the ATMs, it is now proposed to also facilitate deposit of cash in CDMs using UPI. This measure will further enhance customer convenience and make the currency handling process at banks more efficient,” RBI said

“At present, UPI payments from Prepaid Payment Instruments (PPIs) can be made only by using the web or mobile app provided by the PPI issuer. It is now proposed to permit the use of third-party UPI apps for making UPI payments from PPI wallets. This will further enhance customer convenience and boost adoption of digital payments for small value transactions,” it added further.

The transactions on the Unified Payments Interface (UPI) rose 11% month-on-month (MoM) to 13.44 Bn in March 2024 from 12.10 Bn. On a year-on-year (YoY) basis, the transaction count surged 55% from 8.7 Bn.