The National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) is set to kick off an Application Supported by Blocked Amount (ASBA)-like facility in the secondary market from January 1.
The Unified Payments Interface (UPI) for the secondary market will start its beta phase next week for the equity cash segment. Key stakeholders will support it, including clearing corporations, stock exchanges, depositories, stockbrokers, banks, and UPI app providers.
This Beta launch is facilitated by Groww as the brokerage app, alongside BHIM, Groww, and YES PAY NEXT as UPI apps. Initially, HDFC Bank and ICICI Bank customers will be able to avail this facility. Further, HDFC Bank, HSBC, ICICI Bank, and Yes Bank are sponsor banks for the clearing corporation and exchanges.
The facility will enable investors to block funds in their bank accounts for secondary market trading rather than transferring the funds upfront to the trading member. The offering will be rolled out by integrating the UPI mandate service of single block and multiple debits with secondary market trading.
“ASBA-like facility of ‘trading supported by blocked amount in Secondary Market’ through block mechanism was approved by SEBI, brd on the RBI approved facility of single-block-and-multiple-debit in UPI, with the implementation timeline of January 1, 2024,” said NPCI in a statement.
NPCI added that the ‘beta phase’ of the service will initially be available for a limited set of users.
