INDIA – FIRSTS IN DIGITAL BANKING, PAYMENTS & FINANCIAL SYSTEMS

 INDIA – FIRSTS IN DIGITAL BANKING, PAYMENTS & FINANCIAL SYSTEMS

(Premium Consolidated Notes for UPSC / BPSC / RBI / Bank Exams)

1. NPCI, NACH & e-Mandate Innovations

First / InnovationBank/EntityYear
1st debit-card based authentication using NPCI e-Mandate APIKotak Mahindra Bank—
1st API-based digital NACH onboarding for corporatesYES Bank—
1st bank to complete transaction on new NACH platformHSBC India—
NACH Developed byNPCI (replacing ECS)2012

Key Note: NACH is a centralised automated payment/mandate system under NPCI.

2. Payment Banks & Digital Wallet Inclusion

CategoryFirst in IndiaYear
1st Payments BankAirtel Payments Bank (Pilot)Nov 2016

3. Contactless / NFC Payments

InnovationBankYear
1st mobile Tap-to-Pay NFC solutionICICI Bank2015

4. UPI Revolution & P2P Digital Payments

EventBank/EntityYear
Interbank P2P mobile payment launch via IMPS7 Banks under NPCINov 2010
First UPI partnership appYES Bank + PhonePe2016
UPI Developed byNPCI2016
BHIM Launched as UPI aggregatorNPCI2016

5. CBDC – Digital Rupee (e₹)

  • Launched by RBI

  • Retail pilot – 1 Dec 2022

  • First participating banks:
    SBI, ICICI Bank, YES Bank, IDFC First Bank

6. RuPay Ecosystem

CategoryEntityYear
RuPay Card LaunchNPCI2012
RuPay Credit Card Launch—2017
Early mass RuPay Credit Card IssuerUnion Bank of India—

7. BBPS – Bharat Bill Payment System

First / MilestoneEntity
BBPS Pilot LaunchNPCI – 2016 (with 26 units)
1st cross-border BBPS liveFederal Bank + Lulu Exchange (UAE)
1st PSU Bank for cross-borderCanara Bank
ClickPay wide rolloutPhonePe

 Summary One-liners

  • Kotak → 1st debit-card authentication via NPCI e-Mandate

  • YES Bank → 1st digital NACH API onboarding

  • HSBC → 1st live NACH transaction

  • Airtel → 1st Payments Bank

  • ICICI → 1st NFC Tap-to-Pay + pioneer in net & mobile banking

  • UPI Creator → NPCI (2016), First with Yes Bank + PhonePe

  • Digital Rupee retail pilot → SBI, ICICI, YES, IDFC First

  • RuPay 2012, RuPay Credit 2017 → Union Bank early issuer

  • BBPS Cross-border → Federal+Lulu; PSU first → Canara

8. Financial Inclusion & Jan Dhan

CategoryFirst
Largest PMJDY rollout leaderSBI

 PMJDY launched 28 Aug 2014

9. Aadhaar & Biometric Banking

InnovationBankYear
1st Aadhaar-enabled Biometric ATMDCB Bank2016
1st Iris-Scan enabled micro-ATM authenticationAxis Bank—
Nationwide AePS rolloutIndia Post Payments Bank2019
AePS activation via APBAirtel Payments Bank2020

10. Internet & Mobile Banking

FirstBankYear
1st Internet BankingICICI Bank1996
Commercial expansionICICI Bank1998
1st Mobile Banking in IndiaICICI Bank2008-09
SMS banking pioneerICICI Bank—

11. Card Systems

CategoryInstitutionYear
1st Credit Card in India – "CentralCard"Central Bank of India1980/1981
1st Debit Card (private bank)ICICI Bank—

12. ATM & Cash Services

FirstEntityYear
1st ATM in IndiaHSBC, Mumbai1987
OTP-based ATM withdrawalSBI2020
CDM Large RolloutSBI2012-13

13. Cheque Usage

FirstEntityYear
Cheque introduction in IndiaBengal Bank1833

14. Investments & Wealth Products

CategoryEntityYear
1st Mutual Fund in IndiaUTI1964
1st Bank-backed MFSBI Mutual Fund1987
SIP introductionFranklin Templeton (Kothari Pioneer)1993
1st DepositoryNSDL1996
1st Instant Online DematFederal Bank w/ NSDL2019
SGB LaunchRBI (GoI)Nov 2015

15. NPS & Pension

CategoryEntityYear
1st NPS Trustee BankBank of India22 May 2008
NPS for Govt EmployeesGovt of India2004
NPS for All CitizensGovt of India2009

16. QR & Digital Wallets

MilestoneEntityYear
1st Bank to adopt Masterpass QRRBL Bank2016
Bharat QR Unified LaunchNPCI + RBI + Visa + Mastercard2017

Ultra-Short Revision (Speed Notes)

  • ATM – HSBC (1987)

  • Debit + Internet + Mobile Banking – ICICI Pioneer

  • Credit Card – Central Bank of India

  • RuPay – 2012 | RuPay Credit – 2017

  • UPI – NPCI | First App – Yes Bank + PhonePe

  • NACH – NPCI (2012), First: YES/Kotak/HSBC milestones

  • Payment Bank first – Airtel

  • Aadhaar ATM – DCB | Iris – Axis | IPPB AePS 2019

  • Cheque first – Bengal Bank (1833)