11:45 AM IST – India’s online banking experience is finally getting a long-awaited upgrade. NPCI Bharat BillPay Ltd (NBBL) — the bill payments arm of the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) — has launched Banking Connect, popularly known as NetBanking 2.0, at the Global Fintech Fest in October 2025, to make digital payments smoother and safer for millions of Indians.
Every month, nearly 80 million customers use net-banking to pay bills, shop online or recharge services. Yet, many still face problems — failed payments, page not loading, forgotten passwords, and unpredictable customer support. NetBanking 2.0 aims to fix exactly these issues.
In a recent 28 November Interview, Noopur Chaturvedi, Managing Director & CEO of NBBL, says the upgraded platform has been built with a “customer-first approach” to improve payment success and reduce abandoned transactions.
What is NetBanking 2.0 in simple words?
Think of NetBanking 2.0 as the UPI-style upgrade for net-banking.
- Earlier: Every bank → separate website → different login → high chance of failure
- Now: One unified platform → Banking Connect → routes you to your bank’s own app on your phone
- ✔ No need to remember long IDs
- ✔ Less redirection, less confusion
- ✔ Big improvement in success rate
Real-time RBI monitoring = safer money movement
Until now, banks used to send net-banking data to RBI after a week, sometimes even after 10–12 months in rare cases. But this rollout,
With Banking Connect (since 2025 rollout):
➡ RBI gets live updates of fund transfers
➡ Fraud can be spotted faster
➡ Sectors like crypto & online gaming can be monitored closely
This means more trust, less risk for customers.
Target: 1 Billion monthly transactions
Today, NBBL processes about 260 million bill payments per month. As per the Business Standard, with NetBanking 2.0, the goal is to target 1 billion monthly transactions in the next three to four years.
| Metric | Today | Target (by 2028) |
|---|---|---|
| Monthly transactions | 260 million | 1 billion |
| Households served | 70–80 million | 135+ million |
| Customer type focus | Mostly bill payments | Bills + subscriptions + large payments |
Banking Connect is not only for electricity bills — but school fees, credit cards, OTT subscriptions, FASTag top-ups, loan EMIs and more. However, as per the Gen-Z adoption records, experts say this 1 billion mark will be reached way faster than expectations. such as 2026 end or 2027 start, it may touch.
Old Net-Banking vs NetBanking 2.0
| Feature | Old Net-Banking | NetBanking 2.0 (Banking Connect) |
|---|---|---|
| Payment success rate | Often low, page errors | Designed for high success |
| User journey | Confusing redirects | Direct to bank app |
| Security | Weak monitoring | Live RBI oversight |
| Integration | Every merchant connects to every bank | One-time integration via NPCI |
| Suitable for | Desktop users | Mobile-first India |
Why this matters for you
- Faster checkout on shopping apps
- Fewer failed bill payments = fewer headaches
- RBI watching in real-time = safer ecosystem
- Big boost to recurring payments (subscriptions, EMIs)
- Even small towns can adopt digital payments confidently
What’s coming next? (2026 Outlook)
- Support for government payments (taxes, municipal bills)
- Voice-enabled banking flow for senior citizens
- Wider coverage — more small banks joining
- AI-based fraud alerts before money leaves your account
India is entering a phase where net banking will no longer feel old.
NetBanking 2.0 positions bank-account payments as smooth as UPI — but better suited for high-value, recurring and business payments.
