If your product wants to offer bill payments, you have three structurally different ways to reach Bharat Connect, and they carry very different obligations. This guide sets out the roles RBI defines, the three routes into the network, and where an API integration fits against a certified agent institution.
Roles under RBI's BBPS Master Direction
The Master Direction – Reserve Bank of India (Bharat Bill Payment System) Directions, 2024, dated 29 February 2024, defines who does what:
| Role | Definition |
|---|---|
| BBPCU | The Bharat Bill Payment Central Unit, NPCI Bharat BillPay Ltd (NBBL), which sets standards and runs clearing and settlement |
| BBPOU | A Bharat Bill Payment Operating Unit: a bank or non-bank entity authorised by RBI to take part in the system, on the biller side, the customer side, or both |
| COU | A BBPOU serving the customer side, giving customers a payment interface directly or through agent institutions |
| Agent institution | An entity certified by NBBL to provide a bill payment interface and run a network of agents, with the COU it works under answerable for its activities |
| Agent | The actual touchpoint, a shop counter, an app, a bank branch, where a customer pays |
Three routes to put Bharat Connect in your own app
| Route | What you become | What you need |
|---|---|---|
| NBBL-certified agent institution | A certified interface provider, running your own network of agents, under a specific COU's agreement | NBBL certification, a signed COU agreement, and the operational and compliance capacity to answer for your agent network |
| Agent under a COU or agent institution | A touchpoint inside someone else's certified network | A signed agent agreement with a COU or agent institution; no separate NBBL certification |
| An API from a platform working through an operating-unit partner | A software integration that reaches Bharat Connect through the platform's own COU relationship | An API key and contract with the platform; the platform, not you, carries the operating-unit relationship |
Most businesses that just want bill payments inside their own app fit the third route, an API integration, rather than pursuing NBBL certification themselves, which is a heavier undertaking meant for businesses running their own certified agent network.
What to check before you sign, whichever route you pick
- Sub-agent rights. If your plan involves onboarding further agents beneath you, confirm your agreement actually permits it, some COU or agent-institution contracts explicitly forbid it.
- Who owns complaint handling. Bharat Connect runs a centralised dispute-resolution system; confirm which party in your chain is responsible for logging and tracking a complaint on your customers' behalf, and how fast.
- Branding standards. NBBL sets branding standards for how Bharat Connect is represented at a touchpoint. Follow the branding your COU or agent institution actually provides, do not create your own logos or badges implying a status you do not hold.
- Whether recharge counts as a bill. Under the Master Direction, "bill" includes a notice for recharge of prepaid services, so mobile prepaid and DTH recharge can run through Bharat Connect as bill categories, alongside traditional utility bills.
Bill payment outside Bharat Connect needs its own authorisation
RBI's Master Direction is explicit: any entity other than a biller that runs a system for paying bills outside Bharat Connect is itself a payment system under the Payment and Settlement Systems Act, 2007, and needs RBI authorisation to operate. This matters if you are weighing building your own biller-integration layer instead of using Bharat Connect, that path is not a compliance shortcut, it creates its own, separate authorisation requirement.
Which route actually fits your business
You want bill payments inside your own app, fast
Take the API route. Integrate against a platform's BBPS API and let its operating-unit relationship carry the regulatory weight.
You're running or planning a large network of sub-agents under your own brand
Consider NBBL agent-institution certification directly, but budget for the certification process and the ongoing responsibility for your agent network's conduct.
You're a single shop or a small local network
Sign on as an agent under an existing COU or agent institution rather than pursuing certification you do not need.
Where Payonclick fits
Payonclick's BBPS API is the API route: 30 bill categories, live bill fetch, idempotent payments and Bharat Connect complaint handling behind one signed REST interface. Payonclick is not a BBPOU. Bill payments made through the platform, in the app or through the API, reach Bharat Connect through an authorised operating-unit partner, which holds the regulated role. If you want a broader look at what you can build a reselling business around beyond bill payments, see our API reseller program.
If you want the shop-counter version of this explanation, what a retailer can and cannot call themselves when offering Bharat Connect bill payments at a counter, see Bharat Connect (BBPS) explained on our retailer site.