Now, you can use RBI's prepaid card for small-ticket retail purchases

When it comes to safety, this card will be on a par or perhaps even better

There is no shortage of payment options in India. Besides cash, credit and debit cards, there is Unified Payments Interface and several digital wallets like Paytm. The Reserve Bank of India this week has permitted another option — a semi-closed prepaid payment instrument (PPI) that can be used to purchase goods and services. But it cannot be used to make fund transfers.

Says Hrushikesh Mehta, country manager, India, ClearScore: “It will help drive digital payments because not having a digital know-your-customer (KYC) mechanism is one of the biggest constraints to driving penetration of payment tools. This is a payment tool