Network People Services Technologies Ltd. (NPST) has announced a strategic partnership with Cosmos Cooperative Bank Ltd. to enhance the digital payment infrastructure for co-operative banks across India. The initiative aims to provide UPI-based payment acceptance solutions, such as QR codes and soundbox devices, to co-operative banks without the need for significant digital infrastructure investments. With more than 11,000 branches, co-operative banks serve as the first financial point of contact for small and micro businesses across the country. However, many of these institutions face barriers to digital payments due to legacy systems and the complexities involved in merchant acquiring.
Through this partnership, cooperative banks will be able to offer UPI QR code and soundbox-based payment acceptance to their merchants, allowing them to accept digital payments without requiring extensive backend infrastructure. Cosmos Bank will serve as the acquiring sponsor bank, extending its services to partner co-operative banks. NPST, through its offline payment acceptance platform, Qynx, will manage the complete merchant lifecycle, including device logistics, merchant onboarding, field operations, technical integration, and compliance management. This approach is designed to remove the typical barriers to entry for co-operative banks, enabling them to rapidly deploy and scale merchant payment services.
The model allows co-operative banks to offer affordable digital payment solutions starting at ₹1.20 per day for QR codes and ₹5 per day for soundbox devices, making it a cost-effective way for small businesses to accept digital payments. The availability of these solutions is expected to strengthen relationships with merchants, facilitate growth in CASA (current and savings account) deposits, and support cross-selling opportunities for financial products. This initiative aims to help co-operative banks stay competitive in an increasingly digital payments landscape.
Arti Dhole, Joint Managing Director at Cosmos Bank, commented on the partnership, saying, “QR codes and soundboxes are integral to India’s offline digital payment infrastructure, but scaling these solutions has often been a challenge. By collaborating with NPST, we can extend these capabilities to co-operative banks across the country. NPST’s comprehensive approach to merchant lifecycle management ensures that our partner banks can offer seamless, secure, and scalable digital payment solutions to their merchant networks.”
Deepak Chand Thakur, Chairman and Managing Director of NPST, highlighted the importance of co-operative banks in advancing financial inclusion in India. He noted that, while these banks have a significant presence in local communities, their limited technological capacity has often hindered their ability to fully embrace digital transformation. “Our partnership with Cosmos Bank provides co-operative banks with an affordable, scalable solution to overcome these barriers, accelerating their digital adoption and enhancing their ability to serve underserved communities,” said Thakur.
This partnership addresses a critical need for co-operative banks to modernise their digital infrastructure and offer accessible payment solutions to small businesses. The combination of NPST’s expertise in digital payments and Cosmos Bank’s long-standing presence in the co-operative banking sector positions both entities to contribute to the broader goal of expanding financial inclusion in India.