RuPay Card issuance surpasses 10,000 mark in Bhutan

The National Payments Corporation of India's (NPCI) international arm, NPCI International Payments Ltd (NIPL), announced on July 24 that it has issued over 10,000 RuPay cards, a global card payment network from India in Bhutan. Apart from Bhutan, Singapore, UAE and Nepal have already operationalized RuPay cards.

The RuPay card was jointly launched by the Prime Ministers of India and Bhutan, Narendra Modi and Lotay Tshering, respectively, in November 2020. The card scheme is a cross-border payment initiative aimed at promoting low-cost digital payment solutions and advancing digital financial inclusion. 

It is more affordable than other international card schemes transaction-wise and offers enhanced security and protection against fraudulent transactions through an EMV chip protected by cryptographic encryption.

Bhutan National Bank Limited (BNBL) is the only bank in Bhutan currently issuing RuPay cards. The strategic association between NIPL and BNBL has ensured a robust acceptance infrastructure for RuPay in Bhutan. The card is gaining popularity in the Bhutanese market due to its customized solutions for users.

The BNBL RuPay debit cards are accepted at more than 265,994 ATMs and 7.9 million PoS terminals deployed by the member banks of NPCI for cash withdrawals, balance inquiries, and purchases in India.

This allows Bhutanese citizens to withdraw cash and make payments through all ATM and PoS terminals in India, making it a convenient value-addition for account holders, many of whom are students studying at various colleges and universities in India.

In terms of acceptance of RuPay cards internationally, it is available in countries such as Singapore, Bhutan, Maldives, UAE, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Myanmar, South Korea, Nepal, France, United Kingdom, Russia, Oman and Europe.

Meanwhile, NIPL said in a press note that it is also venturing into new international markets to widen the reach of RuPay. 

Hem Kumar Acharya, Director of Banking Operations, Bhutan National Bank Ltd, said, “While we launched Rupay Card issuance in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, we are happy that the offtake has been impressive even during a period when travel was restricted, and not many people ventured out of Bhutan.”

Rina Penkar,  Deputy Chief - Product Development, NIPL said, “We are glad to witness RuPay achieving the milestone of 10K issuance in Bhutan. We would also like to extend our gratitude to Bhutan National Bank for encouraging the widespread adoption of RuPay in Bhutan – the first country to issue as well as accept RuPay cards.”

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