{"id":123010,"date":"2026-09-05T18:05:18","date_gmt":"2026-09-05T12:35:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/?p=123010"},"modified":"2026-09-05T18:05:18","modified_gmt":"2026-09-05T12:35:18","slug":"payments-council-of-india","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/payments-council-of-india\/","title":{"rendered":"Payments Council of India (PCI), Chairman, Members, Initiatives"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Payments Council of India works with the government and regulators to address industry challenges and support the growth, innovation and wider adoption of digital payments in India.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><b>What is the Payments Council of India?<\/b><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The <\/span><b>Payments Council of India (PCI)<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> is an <\/span><b>industry body<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> that <\/span><b>represents non-banking companies working in India\u2019s digital payments sector.<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> It works with the government and regulators to address issues affecting the growth of digital payments.<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Payments Council of India (PCI) was <\/span><b>formed in 2013<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> under the aegis of the <\/span><b>Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI).<\/b><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It was set up to <\/span><b>give non-banking payment companies a common platform to raise industry-related issues and suggest solutions.<\/b><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">PCI works with 140+ members, representing more than 90% of the industry, according to its website.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Its work covers different parts of digital payments such as digital wallets, merchant payments, payment networks, UPI, remittances and payment technology.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It works with institutions such as the <a href=\"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/upsc-exam\/reserve-bank-of-india\/\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>Reserve Bank of India<\/strong><\/a> (RBI), Ministry of Finance and other government bodies on issues related to the payments sector.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Its <\/span><b>broader objective<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> is <\/span><b>to support the growth of digital payments, financial inclusion and a less-cash economy.<\/b><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><b>What does the Payments Council of India do?<\/b><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Payments Council of India (PCI) mainly works as a representative body for the payments industry.<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Raises industry issues<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> by bringing problems faced by payment companies to the attention of policymakers and regulators.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Provides policy inputs<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> on rules and regulations affecting digital payments.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Brings industry players together<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> to discuss common challenges and possible solutions.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Works with regulators and government bodies<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> on issues related to payment systems and digital transactions.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Supports the growth of digital payments<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> by encouraging innovation and wider adoption.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Promotes financial inclusion<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> by supporting payment services that can reach more people and businesses.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><b>Payments Council of India Members\u00a0<\/b><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">PCI membership is <\/span><b>open to non-banking organisations <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">involved in the payments and settlement system or operating in the payments sector.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Its<\/span><b> members can include<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> prepaid payment issuers, merchant aggregators and acquirers, payment processors, card networks, payment service providers, domestic and international money transfer facilitators, Point of Sale (PoS) service providers, payment solution providers and business correspondents.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><b>Payments Council of India Committees<\/b><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The digital payments sector includes many different types of businesses. Payments Council of India (PCI) has therefore created eight committees to focus on specific areas.<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Prepaid Payment Issuers <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">deals with prepaid cards, wallets and other prepaid payment instruments.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Merchant Aggregators and Acquirers <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">focuses on services that help merchants accept and process digital payments.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><a href=\"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/payments-bank\/\" target=\"_blank\"><b>Payments Bank <\/b><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">deals with issues related to the payments bank sector.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">International Remittance and Trade focuses on cross-border money transfers and remittance services.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Bharat Bill Payments Operating Units (BBPOUs) <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">deals with the bill payment ecosystem under the <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/what-is-bharat-bill-payment-system-bbps\/\" target=\"_blank\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Bharat Bill Pay<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">ment System (BBPS<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">).<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Payments Network<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> focuses on companies involved in payment transaction processing and payment networks.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><a href=\"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/upsc-exam\/unified-payments-interface-upi\/\" target=\"_blank\"><b>Unified Payments Interface (UPI)<\/b><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> focuses on issues related to businesses and entities operating on the UPI platform.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Payment Technology Enablers<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> deals with companies providing technology and platforms to banks and non-bank payment companies.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><b>Payments Council of India Key Initiatives<\/b><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">PCI has also <\/span><b>undertaken initiatives aimed at improving the digital payment experience.<\/b><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">One notable example is<\/span><b> Project Pratima<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, under which the industry developed standardized icons for common digital payment actions such as sending money, scanning a QR code, checking balance and viewing transaction history. The objective is to make payment interfaces more familiar and easier for users to understand.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">PCI has also participated in policy discussions on <\/span><b>QR-code interoperability, digital KYC, payment aggregators, recurring transactions and card-on-file tokenisation, providing industry feedback to regulators.<\/b><\/p>\n<h2><b>Payments Council of India Significance<\/b><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">India has rapidly moved towards digital payments through platforms such as UPI, mobile wallets, cards and QR-based payments. In this growing ecosystem, PCI is important because:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It gives payment companies a common platform to raise their concerns.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It helps policymakers understand the practical challenges faced by the industry.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It provides industry feedback while new payment-related policies and regulations are being discussed.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It supports innovation and wider use of digital payments.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Its work contributes to broader goals of financial inclusion and a less-cash economy.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Payments Council of India supports India\u2019s digital payments ecosystem by representing industry stakeholders, shaping policy, promoting innovation, UPI adoption and financial inclusion.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":30,"featured_media":122810,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[786],"tags":[10050],"class_list":["post-123010","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-general-studies","tag-payments-council-of-india","no-featured-image-padding"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/123010","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/30"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=123010"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/123010\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":123061,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/123010\/revisions\/123061"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/122810"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=123010"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=123010"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=123010"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}