IFTAS deploys its GIFT platform

To promote cashless payments and to bolster system-wide financial settlement framework, IFTAS, a wholly owned subsidiary of the Reserve Bank of India, has enabled the Global Interchange for Financial Transaction (GIFT) Payment & Settlement System for the Royal Monetary Authority of Bhutan.

GIFT is a step in improving the operational efficiency of the country's payment system and aids the government's initiative of moving towards a cashless economy.

"GIFT is a one-stop integrated payment & settlement system that we introduced to provide an end-to-end straight-through processing of payment messages (inter-bank transactions) between the source bank & destination bank through the central bank, supporting batches, gross and bulk settlement modes," said Nandakumar R Palani, CEO & Director, IFTAS. 

"The system eliminates the use of manual cheques to simplify processes and is extremely user friendly. We hope to replicate the GIFT system in other nations and are looking at partnering with the central banks of SAARC and other countries," said Palani.

The introduction of the online payment system will help the government in making an informed decision on public expenditure and is also expected to minimise risks of fraud and corruption. The system will help reduce administrative burden and help the government encourage the move towards a cashless economy.

GIFT provides a robust framework with an end-to-end security which is cost effective and has long-term scalability. The online payment system eliminates the use of manual cheques, simplifies the bank reconciliation process and improves public service delivery through the reduced turnaround time.

IFTAS (Indian Financial Technology & Allied Services), is a wholly owned subsidiary of Reserve Bank of India and is a not-for-profit organization established under Section 8 of Indian Companies Act, 2013. IFTAS manages INFINET (the Indian Financial Network), the secure, country-wide information technology network and communication backbone of the Indian Banking and Financial Sector, in which over 350 banks are members. IANS