RuPay credit cards to be launched next year

RuPay, India's own card payment system floated by the National Payment Corporation of India (NPCI) would roll out RuPay Credit cards from next year, a top official said on Tuesday.

Issuance of the card is expected to give Visa and MasterCard a tough competition, since the debit card issued by RuPay by banks in India has revealed that there is a huge potential for cards penetration and transaction, NPCI Chairman M Balachandran told reporters in Tirupur.

About 13 per cent of the total transactions on ATM, Point of Sale and Ecommerce have come through the scheme within a year of introduction of RuPay cards, he said adding that transactions through this was growing one to two per cent month on month. Balachandran, in Tirupur to participate in the celebration of first International Family Remittance Day, said NPCI targets to reach every Indian by 2020.

So far, over 160 million people have been issued RuPay. In the last five years, the organisation has grown multi-fold from two million transactions a day to 20 million transactions now, he said.

RuPay, which had tied up with overseas banks such as JCB of Japan, is holding negotiations for tie-up with China Union Pay for more proliferation overseas, Balachandran said.

The event was organised by payment solutions company GI Technology in association with NPCI and Dhan Foundation and was aimed at sensitising migrant workers, banks, retailers and society about digitalisation of payment system, he said.

GI Technology Managing Director, R M Palaniyappan said the company has built a robust network of over 90,000 retail points across small towns and rural area across India and plans to add 10,000 to 12,000 points annually.