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BBPS Now Accepts Mobile Prepaid Recharges

Current · Source: Reserve Bank of India · RBI/2021-22/54 · issued 14 Jun 2021 · ~1 min read
Quick answerRBI has permitted mobile prepaid recharges as a new biller category in BBPS, on a voluntary basis. Banks and participants must implement this by August 31, 2021, expanding the platform's scope beyond recurring bills.
The rule, in the simplest words
How it plays out — a real example

A payments & clearing officer in Indore, Priya, sees that her bank's BBPS platform now allows mobile prepaid recharges. She updates the system by August 31, 2021, and tells her customers they can recharge their phones along with paying their gold loan installments, making it easier for them to manage all payments in one place.

What changed

Previously, BBPS covered only recurring bill categories like electricity, water, and telecom, with mobile prepaid recharges explicitly excluded. Now, RBI has allowed mobile prepaid recharges to be added as a biller category on a voluntary basis, effective from the circular date and to be implemented by August 31, 2021.

What it means for you

This move broadens BBPS's utility, giving mobile prepaid customers more recharge options through an interoperable platform. For banks and payment system operators, it opens up a new revenue stream and increases transaction volumes, but requires system updates to onboard prepaid recharge billers.

What you must do

Who it affects

Scheduled Commercial Banks including RRBs, Urban Co-operative Banks, State Co-operative Banks, District Central Co-operative Banks, Payment Banks, Small Finance Banks, NPCI Bharat BillPay Ltd., BBPS Providers and System Participants, Prospective Bharat Bill Payment Operating Units

❓ Common questions

Is mobile prepaid recharge mandatory for all BBPS participants?

No, it is voluntary. Participants can choose to offer this category, but must implement it by August 31, 2021 if they decide to participate.

Does this change affect the existing recurring bill categories?

No, the existing categories like DTH, electricity, gas, telecom, and water remain unchanged. This is an addition to the list.

What is the regulatory basis for this directive?

It is issued under Section 10(2) read with Section 18 of the Payment and Settlement Systems Act, 2007.

📜 Read the original circular — full text as issued by RBI
RBI/2021-22/54 CO.DPSS.POLC.No.S188/02-27-020/2021-2022 June 14, 2021 The Chairman and Managing Director / Chief Executive Officer Scheduled Commercial Banks including RRBs / Urban Co-operative Banks / State Co-operative Banks / District Central Co-operative Banks / Payment Banks / Small Finance Banks / NPCI Bharat BillPay Ltd. / Bharat Bill Payment System Providers / System Participants and prospective Bharat Bill Payment Operating Units Madam / Dear Sir, Bharat Bill Payment System – Addition of Biller Category This has reference to the guidelines on Bharat Bill Payment System (BBPS) issued by the Reserve Bank of India vide circular DPSS.CO.PD.No.940/02.27.020/2014-2015 on November 28, 2014 . BBPS, started as an interoperable platform for repetitive bill payments, which covered bills of five categories viz. Direct to Home (DTH), Electricity, Gas, Telecom and Water. The system provided standardised bill payment experience, centralised customer grievance redressal mechanism, prescribed customer convenience fee and ensured availability of a bouquet of anytime, anywhere digital payment options. The scope and coverage of BBPS was expanded vide circular DPSS.CO.PD.No.605/02.27.020/2019-20 dated September 16, 2019 to include all categories of billers which raise recurring bills (except mobile prepaid recharges) as eligible participants, on a voluntary basis. 2. With consistent growth in different biller categories and to facilitate mobile prepaid customers with more options to recharge, it has been decided to permit ‘mobile prepaid recharges’ as a biller category in BBPS, on a voluntary basis. This will be implemented on or before August 31, 2021. 3. This directive is issued under Section 10 (2) read with Section 18 of the Payment and Settlement Systems Act, 2007 (Act 51 of 2007). Yours faithfully, (P. Vasudevan) Chief General Manager
Reproduced for reference with acknowledgment — Source: Reserve Bank of India · RBI/2021-22/54 · issued 14 Jun 2021. The plain-English explanation above is BankPulse’s own independent summary.
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Who does what — compliance checklist
💻 IT / Systems
  • Coordinate with NPCI Bharat BillPay Ltd. and other system participants to ensure seamless integration.
📜 Compliance
  • Update your BBPS platform to support mobile prepaid recharge transactions by August 31, 2021.
  • Communicate the new category to your customers and merchant partners to drive adoption.
  • Review and adjust any customer convenience fee structures for prepaid recharges as per BBPS guidelines.
Grouped from the action items above — a single circular may involve more than one team.
Worked example & action-note template

Example: if you are a Compliance officer at a bank this circular applies to (Scheduled Commercial Banks including RRBs, Urban Co-operative Banks, State Co-operative Banks, District Central Co-operative Banks, Payment Banks, Small Finance Banks, NPCI Bharat BillPay Ltd., BBPS Providers and System Participants, Prospective Bharat Bill Payment Operating Units), your first concrete step on “BBPS Now Accepts Mobile Prepaid Recharges” is: “Update your BBPS platform to support mobile prepaid recharge transactions by August 31, 2021.” (RBI issued this 14 Jun 2021).

  1. Circular: RBI/2021-22/54 -- BBPS Now Accepts Mobile Prepaid Recharges
  2. Issued: 14 Jun 2021
  3. Action required: Update your BBPS platform to support mobile prepaid recharge transactions by August 31, 2021.
  4. Action required: Coordinate with NPCI Bharat BillPay Ltd. and other system participants to ensure seamless integration.
  5. Action required: Communicate the new category to your customers and merchant partners to drive adoption.
  6. Action required: Review and adjust any customer convenience fee structures for prepaid recharges as per BBPS guidelines.
  7. Owner: ____________ Target date: ____________
  8. Board/committee approval needed? Y / N
  9. Evidence filed in compliance register on: ____________
Built only from this circular’s own published fields — not legal advice; always confirm against the official RBI source.

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BankPulse Compliance Evidence Pack — generated 03 Aug 2026 · status cross-checked against RBI’s official withdrawal register (refreshed weekly).
Official RBI source: https://www.rbi.org.in/Scripts/NotificationUser.aspx?Id=12113&Mode=0 — Plain-English summary by BankPulse (bankpulse.ai), reviewed by our expert reviewer, CA Amit Jain. Independent platform, not affiliated with the Reserve Bank of India; is our own plain-English paraphrase, not RBI’s original wording.
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