New Delhi

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Bhutanese PM Dr Lotay Tshering will launch phase 2 of RuPay card on Friday. Under phase 2, Bhutanese cardholders will able to access RuPay network in India. 

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"India and Bhutan share a special partnership, anchored in mutual understanding and respect, reinforced by a shared cultural heritage and strong people to people links," said a release by the Indian government. 

Phase 1 of the card was launched in August 2019 during the visit of the Indian Prime Minister. Phase 1 of RuPay cards enabled visitors from India to access ATMs and Point of Sale (PoS) terminals across Bhutan.

RuPay is an Indian payment gateway like a visa or Mastercard and increasingly being expanded to India's neighboring countries or countries with huge Indian diaspora. It was launched in Singapore in May 2018, followed by Bhutan and the Maldives. UAE was the first gulf country which saw its launch, followed by Bahrain and Saudi Arabia, helping thousands of Indian expats send money back home. Other countries like Myanmar, Australia are also working to adopt it.

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Introduced in 2014, 600 million people use RuPay cards. It is a product of the National payments corporation of India or NPCI.