After UPI and ULI, banks to set up Unified Recovery Interface

Eying benefits from digital banking, lenders are now looking at building Unified Recovery Interface (URI) for enhancing efficiency, reducing costs, and getting good prices for properties of defaulters.

This would be managed by PSB Alliance Ltd, a company set up by all public sector banks in the country.

M V Rao, chairman, Indian Banks’ Association (IBA), said: “Till now we had Unified Payments Interface (UPI), a product developed by National Payments Corporation Ltd (NPCI).

"The second leg is is Unified Lending Interface (ULI). There is a thought process in PSB Alliance that after the payment and lending side, the important aspect that is left out is recovery.”

With the ccprocess in place, the PSB Alliance will now bring the Unified Recovery Interface.

A bank balance certificate is an official document provided by a bank that contains details about one’s account balance at a particular point in time.

This will give comfort to bankers that when they lend, the process will run for the recovery also, so there may not be many challenges in collection management.

This will bring down the cost of collections, Rao said. He was speaking at the banking industry event ‘FIBAC 2024’, organised by IBA and Federation of Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Ficci).

A senior public sector banker said PSB Alliance was now holding the reins of e-auction portal ebkray.

It works as a platform for lenders to sell properties that have been mortgaged for loans which are not being paid.

Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India (IBBI) and Debt Recovery Tribunal (DRT) have agreed to be part of this portal.

IBBI and PSB Alliance are building a programme where entire operations will be run through an application and recorded.

This would also help to get a better price for properties put on the block, he added.

Meanwhile, IBA is working on designing a special apprenticeship programme for the banking system, especially for those not highly qualified.

Sunil Mehta, chief executive, IBA, said the industry lobby group was in discussions with the Ministry of Corporate Affairs for the scheme.

The apprenticeship scheme will target those who have qualifications but need upgradation and are in the age bracket of 21-25 years.

The aim is to groom average students with some training and skills.

There are many areas in banking which do not require highly skilled persons.

The areas include marketing and recovery, he added.