NPST and Cosmos Bank to support co-ops in digital payments

Network People Services Technologies (NPST), a provider of digital payments and banking technology, has announced a partnership with Cosmos Cooperative Bank Ltd to support the expansion of digital payment acceptance infrastructure for co-operative banks across India.

Co-operative banks, with more than 11,000 branches nationwide, are often the first point of contact for small and micro businesses. Despite these long-standing relationships, many remain outside the digital payments ecosystem due to legacy systems and the complexities of merchant acquiring.

Under this partnership, co-operative banks will be able to offer UPI QR code and soundbox-based payment acceptance without developing their own digital backend systems. Cosmos Bank will serve as the acquiring sponsor bank, extending these services to partner institutions. NPST, through its offline payment acceptance platform Qynx, will manage the merchant lifecycle, including device logistics, onboarding, field operations, technical integration and compliance.

The NPST–Cosmos model provides a ready-to-use framework designed to reduce operational barriers and enable co-operative banks to introduce merchant acceptance services more efficiently.

Arti Dhole, Joint Managing Director of Cosmos Bank, noted that QR codes and soundboxes are central to India’s offline digital payments infrastructure but that achieving scale and operational consistency remains challenging. She stated that partnering with NPST enables Cosmos Bank to extend these capabilities to co-operative banks and support the delivery of reliable digital payment services.

The initiative allows co-operative banks to offer QR codes from Rs 1.20 per day and soundbox devices from Rs 5 per day, improving affordability and accessibility for merchants. It is also expected to help banks strengthen merchant relationships, support CASA deposit growth and expand opportunities for cross-selling financial products, contributing to their competitiveness in the evolving digital payments landscape.

Deepak Chand Thakur, Chairman and Managing Director of NPST, commented that while co-operative banks play an important role in financial inclusion, many face constraints in undertaking large-scale digital transformation. He stated that the partnership with Cosmos Bank aims to provide a scalable, technology-enabled framework to help these banks enhance their digital capabilities and improve service delivery to underserved communities.