Digital Banking and Financial Technology
Channels and rails
This domain tests digital delivery and safe use. Internet banking, mobile banking, UPI, IMPS, NEFT, RTGS, AePS, POS terminals, and wallets serve different needs. UPI is a mobile payments interface run by NPCI; it links bank accounts and allows instant transfers. AePS enables Aadhaar-based banking, often at business correspondent points. Wallets are prepaid instruments, not bank accounts. Two-factor authentication, PINs, and device binding protect transactions.
Fintech and controls
Fintech expands credit, payments, and insurance through data and apps, but creates risks: phishing, SIM swap, unauthorised access, and data leakage. Banks use encryption, tokenisation, fraud monitoring, and customer education. Regulatory sandboxes allow controlled testing. Customers should never share OTPs, PINs, or passwords. Failed transactions must be reversed as per the bank's and NPCI's turnaround rules.
Worked example
A customer's UPI transfer of ₹1,500 is debited but the beneficiary does not receive it. Reasoning: the customer should raise a complaint with the bank or app, quoting the transaction reference. If the beneficiary bank does not credit the account, the amount is auto-reversed under the applicable dispute rules. The customer should not send money again to an unknown 'support' contact.
Traps
Do not call a wallet a bank account. Do not say UPI needs RTGS. Do not advise sharing OTPs. Do not confuse a failed transaction with a fraudulent one; the remedy paths differ.