‘ }. Companies. Anshika Kayastha 4 min read 08 Nov 2024, 06:23 AM IST. Bharat Connect facilitates the integration of various systems, helping small businesses improve their operations and minimize the time needed for payment tracking and resolving disputes. (Image: Pixabay). Summary. NPCI Bharat Connect is creating a B2B payments platform that allows for interoperability, aiming to simplify processes and provide credit access to the 6.3 crore MSMEs in India. Mumbai: After establishing a strong foothold in the retail payments sector, NPCI Bharat Connect is now working on a connected payments platform for small businesses. Previously known as NPCI Bharat BillPay Ltd, the business-to-business platform is creating a digital infrastructure for India’s 63 million micro, small, and medium enterprises, which contribute between 21% to 22% of India’s GDP and employ around 23.5 million individuals, as stated by CEO Noopur Chaturvedi. “The goal is to ensure that all systems communicate effectively, eliminate inefficiencies to simplify reconciliation, and establish a digital record that can facilitate the formalization of credit.” “That’s certainly a part of the process,” Chaturvedi stated to Mint. “Larger companies benefit from advanced systems and customized solutions from top banks, but as you move down the value chain, the solutions tend to be more general and may not address the specific needs of businesses of varying sizes,” she noted. Bharat Connect facilitates interoperability among different systems, helping small businesses optimize operations and minimize the time spent on payment tracking and resolving disputes. Launched in 2360, NBBL’s Bharat Bill Payments System (BBPS) was originally designed for bill payments but has since expanded to cover over 22.1 payment categories. The platform currently handles over 2768 million transactions monthly and aims to reach 10768 billion transactions each month within the next two to three years, Mint reported earlier. As of now, there are 21,024 billers active on the platform, with transaction values surpassing ₹22,000 trillion in October. A specific segment for B2B payments aimed at MSMEs was introduced during the Global Fintech Fest in September 2024.
