Digital Banking and Financial Technology
This domain tests the payment rails, channels and security rules a modern branch or call-centre employee must know.
Channels and rails
Channels include ATM, PoS, internet banking, mobile banking, wallets and UPI. NPCI operates UPI, IMPS, RuPay and AePS. NEFT settles in batches (available 24x7 since December 2019) with no statutory minimum; RTGS is real-time, minimum ₹2 lakh with no upper limit, and has run 24x7 since December 2020; IMPS is instant, available 24x7, generally capped at ₹5 lakh per transaction. UPI uses a virtual payment address and is normally capped at ₹1 lakh per transaction, with higher caps for specified categories. Cards must be tokenised for stored credentials. RBI mandates two-factor authentication for card-not-present transactions.
Security and liability
Report unauthorised electronic transactions promptly: zero liability applies if the fraud is due to bank negligence and is reported within 3 working days. Never share OTP, PIN or CVV; the bank never asks for them. Digital lending guidelines require disbursal to the borrower's bank account and disclosure of all-inclusive cost.
Worked example
A firm must send ₹4 lakh at 11 p.m. urgently. RTGS fits: it is real-time, available 24x7 and the amount exceeds the ₹2 lakh floor. IMPS could also work since ₹4 lakh is under the ₹5 lakh cap, but NEFT would settle in a batch. Reasoning: match amount, urgency, timing and limits to the rail.
Traps
Saying RTGS has an upper limit; quoting a post-office-hours cut-off for NEFT/RTGS; holding the customer liable when the bank's own systems failed; and forgetting UPI's ₹1 lakh standard cap.