India: RuPay credit cards to be linked to UPI in the next two months

The National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) on Friday stated that the linking of RuPay credit cards to Unified Payment Interface (UPI)- India's prominent digital payment network, is expected to take place within the next two months. Moreover, NPCI is expected to send the framework of its proposal to India's central bank viz Reserve Bank of India in the next 10 days

RuPay credit card issuers that included big banks such as State Bank of India (SBI), Bank of Baroda (BOB), Union Bank and Axis bank, amongst others have already submitted their proposals to NPCI

"We are hoping that the RuPay credit card linking to the UPI should get operationalised in a couple of months. We are talking to BoB Cards 581 Cards, Axis Bank and Union Bank of India. Once we get approval, we should be able to start in two months," said Dilip Asbe, Chief Executive Officer (CEO), NPCI.

UPI and its ubiquitous reach

The government is of the view that UP's vast reach to remote comers of the country can be used to boost credit penetration Moreover, it may allow for the monetisation of UPI payment for the payment companies.

However, experts argue that one of the major reasons why UPI spread to every nook and cranny of the country was due to its zero fees. Merchant Discount Rates (MDR) is the bone of contention and the banks, as well as RBI, is mulling a strategy to reach the middle ground.

It was in 2016 that NPCI introduced the revolutionary UPI system PhonePe was one of the first platforms to integrate UPI into its system. A year later, several competitors followed the suit and since then, UPI has transformed into a behemoth that even foreign nations are looking to get their hands on.

Singapore and Bhutan have already adopted UP) and as reported by WION France could soon be another participant. A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed between NPCI International, and Lyra Network of France last month.

Read More: Go cashless India's Rupay cards and UPS will soon be accepted in France

(With inputs from agencies)

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