Government extends BHIM cash back scheme for merchants till March

The government has extended till March a cash back scheme that offers incentives of up to Rs 1,000 to merchants for accepting payments through the BHIM application. “The BHIM cash back scheme for merchants will be operational till March 31, 2018,” a note by Ministry of Electronics and IT said. The scheme was launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on April 14 for a period of six months for promoting cashless payments through the BHIM app. Under the scheme, a merchant can get cash back of Rs 50 for 20-50 transaction, Rs 2 for every transaction thereafter till Rs 950. The monthly limit of BHIM cash back scheme is Rs 1,000. The condition for availing benefit is that at least 20 transactions should have been accepted by the merchant during the month from unique users of the BHIM (Bharat Interface for Money) with each amounting to minimum of Rs 25. The app user can make transaction by using UPI address, ISFC code and bank account of the recipient and by scanning QR code that can be generated in the app itself. Unlike mobile wallet, users are not required to store money in the BHIM app.