Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], April 21 (ANI): NPCI Bharat BillPay Limited (NBBL) has onboarded Postal Life Insurance (PLI) as a biller under the insurance category on the Bharat Connect platform, enabling over 1.25 crore policyholders to pay premiums through digital and offline channels.

A biller is a service provider (like an insurer or utility) integrated into the platform to receive payments, acting as a secure, centralized digital repository for real-time bill fetching and payment settlement.

State Bank of India (SBI), acting as the Biller Operating Unit (BOU), facilitated the integration, allowing PLI and Rural Postal Life Insurance (RPLI) customers to make renewal premium payments via Bharat Connect-enabled apps, websites, and agent networks.

PLI, operated by the Department of Posts, services more than 1.25 crore active policies and processes around 2.5 lakh transactions daily.

With this addition, Bharat Connect's insurance category now includes 65 billers, reflecting the growing shift toward digital premium payments.

Highlighting the significance of the move, Director General of Postal Services Jitendra Gupta said, 'The integration of Postal Life Insurance (PLI) and Rural Postal Life Insurance (RPLI) with Bharat Connect (BBPS) marks a significant milestone in the Department of Posts' digital transformation journey.'

He added that the department 'continues to modernize its services while upholding its legacy of trust and reliability.'

SBI said the collaboration would strengthen access to digital financial services across geographies. 'By bringing PLI onto the Bharat Connect platform, we are strengthening the digital payments infrastructure for essential financial services and helping expand access to convenient, reliable, and recurring premium payment options for millions of policyholders,' the bank said.

NBBL Managing Director and CEO Noopur Chaturvedi said the integration would simplify payment processes for users. 'With this addition, we aim to simplify premium payment journeys of policyholders nationwide. Bharat Connect has established itself as a trusted and convenient platform for recurring payments,' she said.

The Bharat Connect ecosystem has been expanding steadily and now includes over 22,640 billers across more than 29 categories. The platform is accessible through over 700 apps and more than 5 lakh offline agents across the country, underlining its scale in India's digital payments infrastructure. (ANI)