Unity Bank & BharatPe Partner to Launch India’s 1st EMI-Driven Credit Card

• Unlimited 2% rewards (Zillion Coins) on all spends upon EMI conversion – no capping, no exclusions
• Truly lifetime free – zero joining fee, zero annual fee, zero processing fee, zero foreclosure charges
• Powered by RuPay, the credit card can be linked to UPI for payments across millions of merchants nationwide

BharatPe, India’s leading financial services and UPI payments company, today announced the launch of Unity Bank BharatPe Credit Card, in partnership with Unity Small Finance Bank (Unity Bank).

The Card brings industry-first features designed to make everyday payments including groceries, bill payments, travel, utilities, insurance premiums, and lifestyle spends, both online & offline, smarter and more rewarding. Offered on National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) RuPay network, the card can be seamlessly linked to UPI, enabling secure and convenient payments across millions of merchants in India.

With a zero-fee structure, the card does away with all hidden costs. There are no joining charges, annual fees, processing charges, or foreclosure penalties. Customers also enjoy the flexibility to prepay their EMIs anytime without penalties, making credit access transparent and stress-free.

The card offers flexible EMI options of up to 12 months, helping customers manage big-ticket purchases with ease. What truly sets it apart is its unlimited flat 2% rewards (Zillion Coins) on every transaction upon EMI conversion, across all merchant categories and platforms, without restrictions. Zillion Coins can be redeemed via the BharatPe app for brand vouchers, products, or even to pay credit card bills. Additional lifestyle benefits include complimentary domestic and international lounge access and preventive health check-ups.

Kohinoor Biswas, Head – Consumer Business at BharatPe, said, “Our focus has always been to make access to credit simple, transparent, and inclusive. With the Unity Bank BharatPe Credit Card, customers get a truly lifetime free card with no hidden charges. Moreover, linking of RuPay Credit Card with UPI opens a multitude of convenient payment options for cardholders.The auto-EMI feature further empowers customers to manage their cash flows responsibly, helping them avoid revolving credit traps and high interest rates, typical of traditional cards. This launch reinforces our commitment to deliver accessible, innovative, and value-driven financial solutions for Indian consumers.”

Aditya Harkauli, Chief Business Officer - Digital Banking, Unity Bank, added, “Saying that balancing present & future financial flows is a daily challenge for many, is a truism. The Unity Bank BharatPe Credit Card aims to address this consumer need, by combining instant payments, meaningful credit limits, flexible ‘pay-as-you-use’ options and generous rewards — all on a single, digitally delivered, lifetime free card. Shaped by consumer and market insights & reflective of our endeavour to create functionally useful differentiation, this first of its kind credit card offers both, salaried & self- employed individuals, practical and transparent payment & credit choices.”

How to Apply for the Unity Bank BharatPe Credit Card in six easy steps?

• Download the BharatPe App
• Onboarding: Enter your phone number and PAN to start.
• Complete KYC: Finish your eKYC and VKYC.
• Eligibility Check: Your credit limit will be assigned based on the test results.
• Activate Your Card: Set your billing date and your card PIN.
• Start Using: Your Unity Bank BharatPe Credit Card will be ready for transactions once activated.

About Unity Small Finance Bank Limited:

Unity Small Finance Bank Limited is a Scheduled Commercial Bank, promoted by Centrum Financial Services Ltd. (Subsidiary of BSE & NSE listed – Centrum Capital Ltd.) with Resilient Innovations Pvt Ltd as a joint investor. Driven by its mission to have the highest standards of Corporate Governance, Unity Bank has in place a strong Board comprising of industry veterans. It offers services across Consumer Banking, Business Banking, Inclusive Banking, Digital Banking, SME & Transaction Banking and Treasury Services. The Bank endeavors to offer comprehensive banking services, along with ease of accessibility, reach and speed, using a combination of advanced technology and expert banking services for a superior customer experience.

About BharatPe:

BharatPe (brand name of Resilient Innovations Pvt Ltd) was founded in 2018 to make financial inclusion a reality for Indian merchants. In 2018, it launched India’s first UPI interoperable QR code, the first zero MDR payment acceptance service. In 2020, post-Covid, BharatPe also launched a card acceptance terminal – BharatPe Swipe. Currently, with a registered network of over 2.5 million merchants across 450+ cities, the company is one of the leading players in UPI offline transactions, processing 500 million+ UPI transactions per month.

BharatPe processes payments of a monthly Transaction Processed Value of ₹12,000 crores. BharatPe Money (brand name of Resilient Digi Services Private Limited), a BharatPe Group Company, has already facilitated the disbursement of loans of over US$ 2 billion, in partnership with NBFCs. Recently, the company also ventured into secured loans with the launch of two-wheeler loans, loans against mutual funds, home loans, and loan against property. BharatPe’s POS business processes payments of over ₹27,000 crores annually on its 125,000+ machines. BharatPe has raised over US$ 583 million in equity to date.The company’s list of marquee investors includes Peak XV Partners (formerly known as Sequoia Capital India), Ribbit Capital, Insight Partners, Amplo, Beenext, Coatue Management, Dragoneer Investment Group, Steadfast Capital, Steadview Capital, and Tiger Global.

In June 2021, the company announced the acquisition of PAYBACK India (rebranded to Zillion), the country’s largest multi-brand loyalty program company with 100 million+ members. In October 2021, the consortium of Centrum Financial Services Limited (Centrum) and BharatPe was issued a Small Finance Bank (SFB) license by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). BharatPe also entered the consumer fintech segment with the launch of postpe in October 2021. In January 2023, Resilient Payments Pvt Ltd, a BharatPe Group Company, received an in-principle nod from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to operate as an online payment aggregator. In April 2023, BharatPe acquired a controlling stake in Trillionloans, a renowned NBFC (Non-Banking Financial Company) registered with RBI. In August 2024, the company rebranded the postpe app to BharatPe and ventured into the consumer payments space with the launch of its UPI TPAP. For more details, please visit www.bharatpe.com.

India Launches RuPay Cards and UPI Connectivity in Mauritius and Sri Lanka

• PM jointly inaugurates UPI services with Mauritius PM & Sri Lankan President
• India’s policy is ‘Neighborhood First’. Our maritime vision is SAGAR i.e. Security And Growth for All in the Region
• By connecting with UPI both Sri Lanka and Mauritius will benefit and digital transformation will get a boost”
• After Nepal, Bhutan, Singapore and UAE in the Gulf in Asia, now from Mauritius, RuPay card is being launched in Africa. 

The Prime Minister, Mr Narendra Modi, on Monday, along with the President of Sri Lanka, Mr Ranil Wickremesinghe and the Prime Minister of Mauritius, Mr Pravind Jugnauth jointly inaugurated the launch of Unified Payment Interface (UPI) services in Sri Lanka and Mauritius, and also RuPay card services in Mauritius via video conferencing.

Mauritius PM, Mr Pravind Jugnauth, informed that co-branded Rupay card will be designated as domestic card in Mauritius. This launch will greatly facilitate the citizens of both countries said the PM.

With this UPI services connectivity, an Indian traveller to Mauritius will be able to pay a merchant in Mauritius using UPI. Similarly, a Mauritian traveller will be able to do the same in India using the Instant Payment System (IPS) app of Mauritius.

Further, with the adoption of RuPay technology, the MauCAS card scheme of Mauritius will enable banks in Mauritius to issue RuPay cards domestically which can be used at ATMs and PoS terminals locally in Mauritius as well as in India. With this, Mauritius becomes the first country outside Asia to issue cards using RuPay technology. Indian RuPay cards would also be accepted at ATMs and PoS terminals in Mauritius.

The digital payments connectivity with Sri Lanka will enable Indian travellers to make QR code-based payments at merchant locations in Sri Lanka using their UPI apps.

These projects have been developed and executed by NPCI International Payments Limited (NIPL) along with partner banks / non-banks from Mauritius and Sri Lanka, under the guidance and support of Reserve Bank of India. The Bank of Mauritius and the Central Bank of Sri Lanka have also played an important role in making these possible. The above facilities have been made operational through select banks / non-banks / Third Party Application Providers in India, Mauritius and Sri Lanka. Going forward, these facilities will be scaled up.

The collaborations on India's digital payments connectivity with Mauritius and Sri Lanka through UPI and RuPay will deepen financial integration and strengthen the long historical, cultural, and economic relations of India with Mauritius and Sri Lanka.

Paytm Partners With SBI Card and NPCI to Launch Next-Gen Co-branded Rupay Credit Cards, 3 Homegrown Brands Join Forces to Drive Credit Inclusion

Brings welcome benefits, spend-based cashback points and milestone benefits for the most rewarding experience

Drives convenience by enabling customers to use the Paytm SBI Card on RuPay network, where UPI payments through credit cards will be live shortly.

Aims to expand access to credit and foster financial inclusion by bringing ‘new to credit’ users into the formal economy

One97 Communications Limited (OCL) that owns the brand Paytm, India’s leading payments and financial services company and the pioneer of QR and mobile payments today announced that it has partnered with India’s largest pure-play credit card issuer SBI Card, to launch Paytm SBI Card on the RuPay network.

The Paytm and SBI Card partnership, which began in 2020, is now expanding with the addition of National Payments Corporation of India's RuPay, as all three homegrown brands join forces to further drive the growth of inclusive, digital-first financial services in India. The next-generation co-branded card redefines the credit card experience by offering exceptional rewards and benefits for its users.

As a Welcome Benefit, customers can enjoy exclusive privileges worth up to ₹75,000 with a complimentary Paytm First Membership that also includes OTT platform membership, flight tickets discounts through Paytm app. Designed for the digitally savvy, the cards offer rewards and savings when used on the Paytm App and millions of online and offline stores. Cardholders receive cashback of 3% on Paytm SBI Card on booking movie and travel tickets on the Paytm app, 2% cashback on all other purchases on Paytm App, and 1% cashback on spends elsewhere.

Vijay Shekhar Sharma, Founder and CEO, Paytm said, "India is at the cusp of the next payments revolution where credit will become the mainstream payment choice. Together with SBI Card, Paytm RuPay Credit Card will be a great choice for consumers. Our users are already savvy on QR code-based payments and with RuPay credit cards working on UPI QR codes, transactions through mobile phones will get a further boost, marking a new era in digital payments."

Bhavesh Gupta, President and Chief Operating Officer, Paytm said, “We are delighted to take our valuable partnership with SBI Card to the next level with the launch of our innovative co-branded credit cards powered by the indigenous RuPay network, catering to the ever-evolving needs of India’s youth and professionals. With this partnership, we aim to revolutionize the way credit is consumed in India, by bringing 'new to credit' users into the formal economy by offering a seamless and rewarding experience.”

According to Rama Mohan Rao Amara, MD & CEO, SBI Card, “We partnered with Paytm to launch this card with the intent to make credit cards more accessible to young and digitally-evolved customers. Paytm SBI Card has become one of the popular cards in our portfolio and with its launch on RuPay network we are further strengthening product value proposition. With RuPay’s extensive reach across India and acceptance of RuPay credit cards on UPI, customers can leverage this card to derive maximum value from their spends.”

Speaking on the development, Praveena Rai, COO, NPCI, said, “We are delighted to partner with Paytm and SBI Card for the launch of this credit card on RuPay’s expansive network. We believe this card will emerge as a keystone credit solution for customers. Since NPCI’s launch of credit card services on UPI, we are constantly working towards providing unique, value-based RuPay credit cards. It is exciting to see RuPay progressively establishing itself as a modern, contemporary, and youthful brand by offering customized value propositions backed by cutting-edge technology.”

The co-branded credit cards are set to delight consumers with exclusive Paytm First membership worth ₹750, which comes along with numerous exciting offerings. The Paytm SBI Card comes with 3% cashback on travel, and movie purchases through the Paytm ecosystem.

Cardholders of either variant will be entitled to 2% cashback on all Paytm ecosystem spends and 1% cashback on all other purchases except wallet reloads and fuel expenditures. They will also receive the added benefit of a 1% fuel surcharge waiver and ₹1,00,000 cyber fraud insurance coverage in the case of ‘Platinum’ cardholders.

About Paytm:

Paytm is India's payment Super App offering consumers and merchants most comprehensive payment services. Pioneer of mobile QR payments revolution in India, Paytm’s mission is to bring half a billion Indians into the mainstream economy through technology-led financial services. Paytm enables commerce for small merchants and distributes various financial services offerings to its consumers and merchants in partnership with financial institutions.

Paytm media contact:
corpcomm@paytm.com

About NPCI:

National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) was incorporated in 2008 as an umbrella organization for operating retail payments and settlement systems in India. NPCI has created a robust payment and settlement infrastructure in the country. It has changed the way payments are made in India through a bouquet of retail payment products such as RuPay card, Immediate Payment Service (IMPS), Unified Payments Interface (UPI), Bharat Interface for Money (BHIM), BHIM Aadhaar, National Electronic Toll Collection (NETC FasTag) and Bharat BillPay. NPCI is focused on bringing innovations in the retail payment systems through the use of technology and is relentlessly working to transform India into a digital economy. It is facilitating secure payments solutions with nationwide accessibility at minimal cost in furtherance of India’s aspiration to be a fully digital society.

For more information, visit: https://www.npci.org.in/

About SBI Card:

SBI Cards and Payment Services Limited (“SBI Card”) is a non-banking financial company that offers extensive credit card portfolio to individual cardholders and corporate clients which includes lifestyle, rewards, travel & fuel and banking partnerships cards along with corporate cards covering all major cardholders’ segments in terms of income profile and lifestyle. The brand has a wide base of over 16 MM+ cards in force as of Mar’23. It has diversified customer acquisition network that enables to engage prospective customers across multiple channels. SBI Card is a technology driven company. The Company is listed on National Stock Exchange (“NSE”) and The Bombay Stock Exchange (“BSE”).

P.S. The brand name of the company is ‘SBI Card’ and it is registered in the name of ‘SBI Cards and Payment Services Limited’. The company is trading under the entity name ‘SBICARD’ on stock exchanges.

NPCI Joins Hands With India’s Leading Payment Aggregators to Enable Merchant Transactions Through Credit Cards on UPI

BharatPe, Cashfree Payments, Google Pay, Razorpay, Paytm, PayU and Pine Labs to facilitate merchant transactions post credit card-UPI linkage move by RBI

After the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) latest move in the digital payments space to link RuPay credit cards to UPI, National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) and India’s leading payment aggregators have joined forces to support credit transactions on Unified Payments Interface (UPI).

NPCI has enabled key aggregators like BharatPe, Cashfree Payments, Google Pay, Razorpay, Paytm, PayU and Pine Labs in order to enable merchant transactions through RuPay credit cards on UPI in the Indian market.

Earlier, UPI customers were able to make transactions only through their bank accounts, overdraft accounts, and prepaid accounts. Now, the linking of RuPay credit cards to UPI will ensure that customers will no longer have to carry their credit cards with them at all times for payments.

Approximately 250 million Indians use UPI for their day-to-day transactions, and close to 50 million users have one or more credit cards. RBI’s move is set to combine the convenience of both by offering customers instant payment experience of UPI with the benefits of short-term credit and rewards offered by credit cards.

The linkage of credit cards with UPI will also lead to a rise in acceptability as UPI provides customers with more points of acceptance through the vast network of asset light UPI QR code. It is also beneficial to merchants, especially those in semi-urban areas, as card point-of-sale terminals are not widely available.

Nalin Bansal, Chief of Corporate and Fintech Relationships and Key Initiatives, NPCI said, “India is one of the select few nations that has been successful in premiering innovation through targeted regulations. And after the RBI’s decision to start linking RuPay credit cards to UPI, we immediately started enabling leading payment aggregators to boost merchant acceptance and customer awareness in a bid to attract early and widespread adoption. The support of all partners has been instrumental in helping us achieve this. Going ahead, we aim to explore more relevant avenues in order to promote the adoption of digital payments via credit cards on UPI for smoother, more reliable and more secure credit-based transactions in the pursuit of our objective to underwrite every eligible Indian.”

Over the last few years, UPI has become one of the most inclusive modes of payment in India with over 250 million unique users and five crore merchants on the platform. It is capable of facilitating inter-bank transactions using a smartphone and is utilized for real-time payment processing. In January alone, UPI processed 8038.59 million transactions amounting to 1,299,058.78 crore.

According to the RBI Payments Vision for 2025, it is expected that credit-based payment transactions are expected to grow by 16% year-on-year for the next four years. With India rapidly adopting digital payments for day-to-day transactions, the credit card-UPI linkage announcement will provide access to a hassle-free and smooth payments experience for individuals and merchants alike heading into the future. 

About NPCI:

National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) was incorporated in 2008 as an umbrella organization for operating retail payments and settlement systems in India. NPCI has created a robust payment and settlement infrastructure in the country. It has changed the way payments are made in India through a bouquet of retail payment products such as RuPay card, Immediate Payment Service (IMPS), Unified Payments Interface (UPI), Bharat Interface for Money (BHIM), BHIM Aadhaar, National Electronic Toll Collection (NETC FasTag) and Bharat BillPay.

NPCI is focused on bringing innovations in the retail payment systems through the use of technology and is relentlessly working to transform India into a digital economy. It is facilitating secure payment solutions with nationwide accessibility at minimal cost in furtherance of India’s aspiration to be a fully digital society.

For more information, visit: https://www.npci.org.in/

Japan's JCB Join NPCI to Offer 40% Cashback for RuPay JCB Cardholders for In-Store Purchases* in Australia, Qatar and UAE

• All RuPay JCB Debit & Credit Cardholders will be offered 40% cashback on in-store purchases in Australia, Qatar and United Arab Emirates.
• The offer will be valid from October 1 to December 31, 2022.

JCB International Co. Ltd., the international operations subsidiary of JCB Co. Ltd., Japan’s only international payment brand partners with National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) to announce the launch of a special cashback offer for all RuPay JCB Debit & Credit Cardholders for a limited time period. In accordance with the offer, customers using a RuPay JCB Card will receive 40% cashback at retail stores in Australia, Qatar and United Arab Emirates (UAE) during the offer period. The offer will be valid from October 1 to December 31, 2022. **

The maximum cashback amount per transaction will be ₹3,000, with an overall cap of ₹15,000 per card during the offer period. Detailed T&C can be referred at www.rupay.co.in

Yoshiki Kaneko, President and COO, JCB International Co. Ltd. said, “With the easing of travel restrictions globally, we expect to see a surge in international travel. We are happy to partner with NPCI in launching this promotion and hope our Indian cardholders will enjoy these offers at locations carefully chosen, keeping their preferred travel destinations in mind. With wide acceptance of merchants internationally, the RuPay JCB Debit & Credit cardholders will enjoy a hassle-free and rewarding experience wherever they go”. 

Denny V. Thomas, Head- RuPay, NPCI said, “We are delighted to launch the cashback offer for our RuPay JCB Credit and Debit cardholders. We are anticipating a high traffic from India to these locations and want our cardholders to benefit, when they spend using RuPay JCB Cards. The offer is available on all in-store purchases irrespective of size or category of the merchant. With a wide international acceptance network, we wish to provide more such attractive offers in other geographies also”.

For the promotion details, please visit:
https://www.rupay.co.in/rupay-festive-carnival/rupay-festive-carnival-detail?id=120

* In-store purchase means a face-to-face POS transaction made at a merchant location.

** NPCI reserves the right to change/modify the scheme without recourse to anyone or without any pre-notification.

About JCB

JCB is a major global payment brand and a leading credit card issuer and acquirer in Japan. JCB launched its card business in Japan in 1961 and began expanding worldwide in 1981. JCB issues cards across various countries and regions internationally with more than 140 million cardmembers. As part of its international growth strategy, JCB has formed alliances with hundreds of leading banks and financial institutions globally to increase its merchant coverage and cardmember base. As a comprehensive payment solution provider, JCB commits to providing responsive and high-quality service and products to all customers worldwide.

For more information, please visit: www.global.jcb/en/

About NPCI :

National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) was incorporated in 2008 as an umbrella organization for operating retail payments and settlement systems in India. NPCI has created a robust payment and settlement infrastructure in the country. It has changed the way payments are made in India through a bouquet of retail payment products such as RuPay card, Immediate Payment Service (IMPS), Unified Payments Interface (UPI), Bharat Interface for Money (BHIM), BHIM Aadhaar, National Electronic Toll Collection (NETC FasTag) and Bharat BillPay.

NPCI is focused on bringing innovations in the retail payment systems through the use of technology and is relentlessly working to transform India into a digital economy. It is facilitating secure payments solutions with nationwide accessibility at minimal cost in furtherance of India’s aspiration to be a fully digital society.

For more information, visit: https://www.npci.org.in/

BoB Financial and Snapdeal Launch Co-Branded JCB RuPay Contactless Credit Card

The co-branded card will offer up to 5% cashback on spends done on the Snapdeal app and website

·Cardholders can also get benefits worth up to INR 500 by activating their credit card within 30 days of issuance

BOB Financial Solutions Limited (BFSL), the wholly-owned subsidiary of Bank of Baroda (BoB) and Snapdeal in partnership with National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) and JCB International Co. Ltd. have announced the launch of the Snapdeal BoB JCB RuPay Credit Card. The card is designed keeping in mind the purchase behaviour of shopping enthusiasts and will offer a host of attractive benefits and rewards. The card will also be usable at international merchants and ATMs through the extensive JCB global network.

Users of the co-branded credit card will receive up to 5% unlimited cashback (accrued as 20 reward points on every INR 100 spent) on the Snapdeal app and website. Activation of the co-branded credit card within 30 days of issuance will entitle the cardholder to shopping benefits on Snapdeal worth up to INR 500.

The card also offers 10 Reward points per INR 100 spent on online, grocery and departmental store spends. For purchases in all other categories, customers will get 4 reward points for every INR 100 spent. The cardholders will also enjoy free Add-On cards for family members, waiver of 1% fuel surcharge, easy EMI options (pre and post purchase), and periodic offers across merchants.

Commenting on the partnership, Shailendra Singh, MD & CEO, BOB Financial said, "We are happy to launch our co-branded credit card with Snapdeal, in partnership with NPCI, at a time when both new customer acquisition as well as usage from smaller cities and towns continue to grow at an impressive pace. The challenges brought about by the pandemic have resulted in a rapid adoption of digital payments even in interior locations of the country. Our co-branded credit card will offer additional value to this large segment of customers that constitute Bharat!".

Himanshu Chakrawarti, President, Snapdeal Limited said, “Snapdeal’s target audience is the value-savvy, mid-income, price-conscious buyers who predominantly live in the smaller cities of India. The partnership between BOB Financial, NPCI and Snapdeal brings together parties with a deep understanding of this mega-segment of consumers and how they are evolving in terms of their use of technology and digital payments. Our co-branded card is another important step in offering additional value to our users.”

Ms. Praveena Rai, COO, NPCI said, “We are happy to associate with BOB Financial and Snapdeal for the launch of the distinctive co-branded JCB RuPay Contactless Credit Card. We believe that this proposition will appeal strongly to millions of Snapdeal and BOB Financial’s customers at large by offering them a unique and rewarding experience. At NPCI, we are strategically focussing on creating a wide array of offerings in the credit segment for the customers to experience delightful and memorable retail as well as e-commerce shopping.”

Mr. Yoshiki Kaneko, President and COO, JCB International Co. Ltd. said, “We are extremely excited to partner with BFSL and Snapdeal through our esteemed network partner RuPay. This product, besides offering great value and benefits within India, comes with unique benefits and privileges internationally. This includes access to exclusive JCB in-city lounges at many key international travel destinations and special discounts exclusively for JCB cardmembers at many international merchants. We are sure the cardmembers will enjoy the benefits of carrying this card with them wherever they go.”

About BOB Financial Solutions Limited:

BOB Financial Solutions Limited was established in the year 1994. It is a Non-Banking Financial Company, wholly owned by Bank of Baroda. The Company’s primary business is in credit cards with its key differentiator being simple, easy-to-understand products that are fairly priced and efficiently serviced. A pioneer in the space of credit cards, BOB Financial offers an array of products catering to all segments of customers. It is leveraging state-of-the-art technology to provide unique payment solutions to its customers.

For more information, visit www.bobfinancial.com

FinTech Platform Tide Partners With Transcorp to Roll-out RuPay Powered Expense Card

Plans to launch other Payment and Business services later this year

Tide, the UK’s leading SME-focused business financial platform that began setting up operations in India in 2020, today announced that it has partnered with Transcorp International Limited, a 27-year-old Reserve Bank of India (RBI) regulated Authorised Dealer Category II and perpetual Prepaid Payment Instrument (PPI) license holder, to launch co-branded prepaid cards (Tide Expense Card) as an entry product. This roll-out stems from Tide’s expansion strategy in India, its first international market outside the UK, and a pillar of its global ambitions.

Tide will offer payment services to small businesses across India, starting with a Tide Business Account, accompanied by a Tide Expense Card. These Tide Expense Cards will be offered in partnership with Transcorp powered by RuPay. Other payment and business services will follow later this year. The partnership leverages the expertise of RuPay, India's indigenous payment network, the long-standing reputation of Transcorp, and Tide’s vast experience with SMEs in the UK, to help small businesses in India save time and money.

Commenting on the partnership, Oliver Prill, CEO, Tide, said, “Launching Tide’s business financial platform in India has been our priority since we announced our international expansion. We are excited to partner with Transcorp as we embark on the next stage of Tide’s journey, to serve the 64-million and growing SMEs in the Indian market. With Transcorp, we are ready to begin our initial product offering of Tide India, in order to build the best possible service to help SME owners save time and money.”

Users will be able to activate and manage their Tide Business Account and Tide Expense Card through the Tide app, which will also be used to load money, collect payments and check spends, amongst other services.

Kumar Shekhar, VP, Tide (India), said, “We, at Tide, wish to support entrepreneurs in their journey and believe we’re in a strong position to do exactly that. As we scale-up in India, we will expand our product offerings for small businesses who wish to take the big step of starting out in business – whether it’s as a contractor, freelancer, sole trader, or small business owner. Transcorp is a great partner for Tide, with a great reputation as an issuer for co-branded prepaid instruments. Transcorp has already demonstrated success with its partners and Tide is delighted to join this illustrious list.”

The needs of SMEs globally are largely universal, with time wasted on business and administrative tasks being a key issue. Tide exists to fix that problem. Tide has developed the right approach and a mix of services to meet the diverse needs of small businesses. In the next year, Tide plans to introduce a few more features like Business Savings/Current Account in partnership with a RBI-licensed bank, Fund Transfer, Invoicing, GST and Pay by link and Credit services, for its members.

“Transcorp is delighted to partner with Tide to enable digital payments and promote financial literacy amongst India’s largest business fraternity: SMEs. This segment is India’s economic backbone but remains financially underserved. With Tide, we aim to include them into the formal economy by delivering excellent products and exceptional service." said Ayan Agarwal, Vice President, Transcorp. “As India’s premier non-bank card issuer, Transcorp takes pride in enabling financial inclusion for Indian SMEs, and continuously strives to deliver success to its partners through the optimisation of stakeholder alignment."

Small businesses that are just starting out will find the business accounts helpful for their daily transactions and expenses. Being fully-digital, Tide’s Business account is not just hassle-free, but is secure and protects user privacy.

As the India platform is built out over the course of 2022, Tide plans to partner with a range of service providers from payroll providers to credit partners.

Cashfree Payments Partners with NPCI for Tokenization of RuPay Cards

With this partnership, Cashfree Payments becomes a certified and compliant payment tokenization service provider across all key card networks

Cashfree Payments, a leading payments and API banking solutions company, today announced that it has partnered with National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) to provide tokenization solutions on RuPay cards for its merchants. Cashfree Payments’ tokenization solution ‘Token Vault’ helps merchants to provide their customers the option to save cards on the merchant website or app and process card payments securely while being RBI compliant. With this partnership, Cashfree Payments becomes a certified and compliant payment tokenization service provider across key card networks like RuPay, Mastercard, and Visa.

Token Vault supports all major card types: credit cards, debit cards, prepaid cards, and corporate cards. Businesses can integrate Token Vault API with their platform with a single integration. Once integrated, Cashfree Payments takes care of both saved card function & processing payments.

Akash Sinha, CEO and Co-Founder, Cashfree Payments

Akash Sinha, CEO & Co-Founder, Cashfree Payments said, "We are glad to partner with NPCI to enable tokenization for RuPay cards and empower our merchants with a secure and compliance-friendly payments inflow system. At Cashfree Payments, it is our focus to build innovative and effective solutions, to help provide a simpler, safe and seamless experience to our merchants. Our business, products, vision and mission support a digital and an inclusive Indian economy.”

Gaurish Korgaonkar, Head- Fintech Solutions, NPCI said, "This partnership with Cashfree payments to provide tokenization solutions on RuPay cards will enable cardholders to enjoy a seamless payment experience backed by best-in-class security. We believe that this is yet another step towards further strengthening the overall digital payments environment with increased safety and security. We are confident that this initiative will help various merchants in the digital ecosystem meet the RBI deadline.”

As per RBI guidelines, with effect from 1st July 2022, neither businesses nor payment aggregators can save customer card details on their platforms. The card details can only be saved by the card networks or issuing banks. Card tokenization is the process of replacing sensitive card information like card number, and card expiry with a cryptographically generated random string, referred to as the card token. Once a card is tokenized, the generated card token can be used for processing payments as a substitute to card details, thus eliminating risk of loss of sensitive card information while making card payments.

Cashfree Payments’ was among the first few players in the industry to go live with its tokenization solution in December 2021.

With over 50% market share among payment processors, Cashfree Payments today leads the way in bulk disbursals in India with its product Payouts. Recently, India’s largest lender, SBI invested in Cashfree Payments underscoring the company’s role in building a robust payments ecosystem. Cashfree Payments works closely with all leading banks to build the core payments and banking infrastructure that powers the company’s products and is also integrated with major platforms such as Shopify, Wix, Paypal, Amazon Pay, Paytm, and Google Pay. Apart from India, Cashfree Payments products are used in eight other countries including the USA, Canada, and UAE.

Cashfree Payments is a leading payment and API banking solutions company. It provides full-stack payments solutions enabling businesses in India to collect payments and make payouts via all available methods with simple integration. Cashfree Payments’ offerings include an advanced and easy way to integrate payment gateways, a split payment solution for marketplaces, bank account verification API and Auto Collect -- a virtual account solution to match inbound payments to customers. Founded by IIIT Hyderabad alumnus Akash Sinha and IIT Kharagpur graduate Reeju Datta, www.cashfree.com is among the leading payment service providers in India processing transactions worth USD 20 Billion annually. It has leveraged technology to lead payment disbursals in India with more than 50% market share among payment processors. Cashfree Payments enables more than 1,00,000 businesses with payment collections, vendor payouts, wage payouts, bulk refunds, expense reimbursements, loyalty and rewards. Apart from India, Cashfree Payments products are used in eight other countries including the USA, Canada and UAE. Cashfree Payments is backed by Silicon Valley investor Y Combinator, Apis Partners, State Bank of India (SBI) and was incubated by PayPal.

Federal Bank Launches RuPay Signet Contactless Credit Card

Federal Bank joined hands with the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) to launch the ‘Federal Bank RuPay Signet Contactless Credit Card’. One of the major highlights of this card is, it comes with the lowest Annual Percentage Rate (APR) starting from just 5.88% per annum.

The Federal Bank RuPay Signet credit cardholders will gain access to a wide variety of offers and deals across categories including travel, food and dining, shopping, sports, entertainment, lifestyle and much more. With a range of exciting offers, the card is presently offered to existing customers of the Bank. The offers include Amazon Gift vouchers as welcome benefits, attractive reward points, Buy One Get One (BOGO) free offer at INOX, complimentary membership programs, complimentary Swiggy vouchers, complimentary lounge access at Domestic and International airports and much more.

Adopting a ‘Digital First’ card approach, the card is immediately made available for use in FedMobile, the Bank’s Mobile Banking application, through a 3 click process. The physical card will be delivered to the customer in due course. Specially designed for millennial customers, this card offers an interesting 3-2-1 rewards structure personalised for them. They would get 3x rewards on spends for Electronics & Apparel categories, 2x rewards on Entertainment category and 1x rewards for other categories, using the Federal Bank RuPay Signet credit card.

Commenting on the launch, Ms. Praveena Rai, COO, NPCI said, “We are excited to launch with our partner bank - the Federal Bank RuPay Signet Contactless Credit Card. This card has a significant potential to attract new-age customers as it has a complete package of benefits suiting their lifestyle backed up with an innovative cashback scheme. At NPCI, for RuPay, we continue to work towards offering a delightful and contactless shopping experience to all our customers. We also believe our association with Federal Bank will provide a wider penetration of RuPay contactless cards in the country.”

Virtually launching the card, Shalini Warrier, Executive Director & Business Head- Retail, Federal Bank said, “Federal Bank has, yet again, ensured that the mantra of “Digital at the fore, Human at the core” comes to life via this latest offering, the RuPay credit card. This card is also a symbol of our strong partnership with NPCI, an entity known for innovation in the retail payments space.”

About Federal Bank Limited

Federal Bank (NSE: FEDERALBNK) is a leading Indian private sector bank with a network of 1,289 banking outlets and 1,957 ATMs/Recyclers spread across the country. The Bank’s total business mix (deposits + advances) stood at ₹ 3.05 Lakh Crore as on March 31, 2021. Capital Adequacy Ratio (CRAR) of the Bank, computed as per Basel III guidelines, stood at 14.62% as on 31st March 2021. Federal Bank has its Representative Offices at Dubai and Abu Dhabi that serve as a nerve center for Non Resident Indian customers in the UAE. The Bank also has an IFSC Banking Unit (IBU) in Gujarat International Finance Tec-City (GIFT City). Federal Bank is transforming itself, keeping its principles intact, into an organization that offers services beyond par. It has a well-defined vision for the future as a guidepost to its progress.

About NPCI

National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) was incorporated in 2008 as an umbrella organisation for operating retail payments and settlement systems in India. NPCI has created a robust payment and settlement infrastructure in the country. It has changed the way payments are made in India through a bouquet of retail payment products such as RuPay card, Immediate Payment Service (IMPS), Unified Payments Interface (UPI), Bharat Interface for Money (BHIM), BHIM Aadhaar, National Electronic Toll Collection (NETC Fastag) and Bharat BillPay. NPCI also launched UPI 2.0 to offer more secure and comprehensive services to consumers and merchants. NPCI is focused on bringing innovations in the retail payment systems through use of technology and is relentlessly working to transform India into a digital economy. It is facilitating secure payments solutions with nationwide accessibility at minimal cost in furtherance of India’s aspiration to be a fully digital society.

To Offer Health Cover To UPI Users and RuPay Cardholders, Universal Sompo General Insurance partners with NPCI

Universal Sompo General insurance partners with National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) to offer a special health insurance cover to RuPay Card holders & UPI Users at affordable premium rates.

It provides special coverage for Cancer and Heart related ailments along with features like cashless hospitalization in over 5,000 hospitals across India and tax benefit as per income tax laws. This cover is designed for and available to all RuPay cardholders and UPI users. They can enroll and buy this specially designed coverage in a hassle-free digital environment.

Dilip Asbe, MD & CEO, National Payments Corporation of India mentioned, “We are delighted that this collaboration and value proposition will augment health insurance penetration among over 600 million RuPay cardholders and UPI Users. The recent pandemic has brought much needed awareness among people for health insurance. I am sure with the help of specially designed coverage offered by Universal Sompo to RuPay cardholders, they would get maximum advantage by securing themselves against Cancer and Heart ailments at affordable premiums”.

Sharad Mathur, MD & CEO, Universal Sompo General Insurance, said “We are upholding national agenda and attempting to increase insurance inclusion by offering customized health insurance solutions to RuPay Cardholders and UPI Users in alliance with NPCI. The buying process is entirely digitized for cardholders to enjoy seamless transactions. The collaboration between Universal Sompo & NPCI is ideal to provide value offering to every Indian”.

Universal Sompo General Insurance Co. Ltd is a joint venture of Indian Bank, Indian Overseas Bank, Karnataka Bank Ltd, Dabur Investment Corporation and a leading general insurer from Japan, Sompo Japan Insurance Inc.

It has footprints across the country to serve its customers with 17 Zonal Offices, 86 Branch Offices and a 1500 strong workforce. It offers a wide-range of products catering to Retail, Rural, SME & Corporate customer segments. It's innovating in the health insurance space and offers both standalone policies and co-branded products in conjunction with its bank partners. It serves customers through a vast and compliant distribution network of banks, agents, brokers, auto dealers, POSPs, CSCs and so on. It continues to invest in technology ensuring smooth purchase experience for customers and rapid integration facility for distributors.

PayNearby Partners with NPCI to Launch ‘PayNearby Shopping Card’ powered by RuPay for Retailers

Representative Only

Catalyst to digitize cash for mass market customers to enable them to enjoy benefits of digital commerce

Mumbai, December 3rd: PayNearby, India's largest hyperlocal fintech startup, has partnered with YES Bank and National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) to launch PayNearby Shopping Card, enabling its retail partners to derive maximum benefits of digital commerce in the mass market category. The new offering aims to enable PayNearby retailers to seamlessly consume a range of digital services, like ecommerce, e-learning, online gaming, online music and videos, monthly recharges and utility payments in a secure, risk free mode. 

India has a large underbanked, un-carded, digitally shy population who still transact in cash. Mass market penetration of digital services in India is challenged because of the limited adoption of digital money. The launch of PayNearby Shopping Card powered by RuPay is aimed to enable mass market adoption, so that cash digitization options are available at grass root levels.

The PayNearby Shopping Card will offer our retailers a safe and simple payment instrument to fulfil their digital commerce requirements. The card is easy to use and is enabled across 10 lakh plus PayNearby retail touch points, across 17,000 plus PIN codes in the country. The retailers can avail the card by completing the KYC. The maximum wallet balance at any point in time can be Rs. 1 Lakh and users can transact upto Rs. 5 lakh monthly and Rs. 25 lakhs annually.

PayNearby is committed to uplifting the technology shy population and taking them up the digital curve so that benefits of digital advancements can be more widespread. Active usage of these cards will be promoted through tailored campaign for both retailers and consumers. The new offering aims to boost online transactions across platform in ecommerce purchase, monthly utility payments, mobile recharges, online education subscriptions and more. In post COVID era, when contactless payments and digital commerce have become so significant to avail services, PayNearby aims to enable masses to access these benefits through PayNearby Shopping Card powered by RuPay.

The prepaid card is a secured payment instrument and mitigates the risk of cyber fraud, especially in case of high-volume transactions. While it operates very similar to a debit card, unlike the latter, the PayNearby Shopping Card is linked to a PayNearby wallet rather than a bank account. Users can load as much or as little money as they are comfortable with, thus minimizing risks while securing payments. Fraud protection mechanisms put in place ensure transactions are secure and there is no data compromise.

One of the most salient features of the offering is that it enables the user to seamlessly lock/unlock the card digitally while also offering a summary of the transaction statement which in turn helps users to keep their spending under check.

Commenting on the announcement, Anand Kumar Bajaj, Founder, MD & CEO, PayNearby stated, "We are delighted to partner with NPCI to launch the PayNearby Shopping Card powered by RuPay, a virtual prepaid instrument that ensures secure transactions. Our Digital Pradhan network has been at the forefront of the pandemic, serving as corona warriors and providing seamless banking at the grassroots level. We have been processing over Rs. 100 crore transactions daily since the lockdown, and handling large volumes.

The launch of PayNearby Shopping Card powered by RuPay will act as a catalyst in our cash digitization efforts and help us uplift local communities by enabling access to a lot of digital services, which were earlier limited to 10% of India's population who had access to digital money. It is our duty to ensure that our retailers and our customers get the maximum benefit of digital advancements in these challenging times, while assuaging any concerns of misuse and cyber frauds.

PayNearby retailers offer a host of non-financial services such as travel ticket booking, utility bill payment and mobile recharges among others to the local population which requires digital mode of payments. Additionally, where cash on delivery (COD) is not available it becomes a challenge for a customer to avail ecommerce and other services as they are required to pay digitally in advance. These customers are unbanked and underbanked and do not have access to digital payment instruments. The virtual prepaid card can play the role of an enabler offering access to assisted agent banking as the retailer can seamlessly pay for the customer using the PayNearby Shopping Card."

Praveena Rai, COO, NPCI said, "We are pleased to partner with PayNearby and launch the PayNearby Shopping Card. Through this strategic partnership, we endeavor to deepen the financial inclusivity in the country and empower the underbanked population with seamless digital payments facility for their day to day transactions. This initiative enables small scale local retailers to upgrade and add value to their businesses with digital commerce facility, this will also act as a driving force for local retailers to onboard into the digital payment ecosystem. We believe this collaboration is a step ahead towards realizing our vision of digital payments for all."

About Nearby Technologies Pvt. Ltd.:

Incepted in April 2016, Nearby Technologies is a fintech company offering financial/non-financial services to the underbanked and unbanked segment. Nearby Technologies works on a B2B2C model through its various brands – PayNearby, Insure Nearby, BuyNearby and few more. PayNearby empowers retailers at the first mile to offer digital services to local communities, thereby boosting financial inclusion in India. Retailer services are focused on Aadhaar based banking services, Domestic Remittances, Bill Payments, Card Payments, and insurance services among others.

It was founded by Anand Kumar Bajaj, Subhash Kumar, Yashwant Lodha & Rajesh Jha who bring with them rich experience in the field of banking, payments and other financial sectors. PayNearby is a DIPP-certified FinTech startup, partnering with various financial institutions including YES Bank, RBL Bank, ICICI Bank, State Bank of India, Axis Bank, CC Avenue, Bill Desk, NPCI, FASTag, NBFC and FMCG companies. It is the sole technology provider using Aadhaar Enabled Payment Services (AEPS) and IMPS to YES Bank, making them one of the only two fintech companies hosted by the National Payments Corporation of India (NCPI). For more information, visit: https://paynearby.in/

About RuPay:

RuPay, first-of-its-kind India's indigenous Debit and Credit payment network, was launched by National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI). It has been designed to address the evolving needs of Indian consumers, merchants and banks.

National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) was incorporated in 2008 as an umbrella organization for operating retail payments and settlement systems in India. NPCI has created a robust payment and settlement infrastructure in the country. It has changed the way payments are made in India through a bouquet of retail payment products such as RuPay card, Immediate Payment Service (IMPS), Unified Payments Interface (UPI), Bharat Interface for Money (BHIM), BHIM Aadhaar, National Electronic Toll Collection (NETC Fastag) and Bharat BillPay. NPCI also launched UPI 2.0 to offer a more secure and comprehensive services to consumers and merchants.

NPCI is focused on bringing innovations in the retail payment systems through use of technology and is relentlessly working to transform India into a digital economy. It is facilitating secure payments solutions with nationwide accessibility at minimal cost in furtherance of India's aspiration to be a fully digital society. For more information, visit: https://www.npci.org.in/

Bhutan's T Bank Goes Live on Rupay and National QR Code Systems

T Bank Ltd., a commercial bank promoted by Bhutan’s Tashi Group, has moved from a third-party hosted switch to its own in-house EFT Switch and Card Management System from Maximus. Mr. Pema Tshering, Chief Executive Officer of T Bank, said on the occasion of the bank going live “the new Switch and Card Management system will give T Bank’s leverage to offer omni channel services to its customers, connect to India’s Rupay network, and establish the foundation for handling five times the current transaction levels. All these at competitive cost of ownership to the bank.”

T Bank had decided last year to insource its IT operations and in this connection had floated a tender earlier this year. The bank opted for the Maximus Switch suite and accordingly placed the order for the technology early May this year. Maximus completed the migration in a record time of two months, despite the lockdown due to Covid-19 and with most of its technical team working from home. The new EFT Switch is connected to the Bhutan Financial Switch operated by the Royal Monetary Authority of Bhutan and is also networked with the NPCI’s Rupay network. The technology for setting up a merchant payment network has also been provided by Maximus.

With the implementation of EFT Switch, Card Management and Merchant Management technology for T Bank, Maximus has become a dominant payments solution provider in this country. According to V. Shankar, Founder & CEO of Maximus Infoware (India) Pvt. Ltd. “Our commitment is to be a trusted technology provider in the banking, payments and financial services space. Maximus cutting-edge products and services drive some of the most innovative applications in ten countries around the world. We are grateful to T Bank for reposing their confidence in us and we are happy that our team could meet their exacting project deadlines and enable the bank to go live in a flawless manner. Maximus is associated with all the banks in Bhutan as a banking solution provider and this a great privilege for us”.

About T Bank Ltd.

T Bank Ltd is one of the commercial banks in the Kingdom, licensed by the Royal Monetary Authority of Bhutan under the Financial Institutions Act of Bhutan, 1992. It is incorporated under the Companies Act of the Kingdom of Bhutan 2000. It commenced banking operations with the establishment of the bank in 2010. The priority of the bank is to meet the growing demand for modern banking services from the general public.


About Maximus Infoware (India) Pvt. Ltd.

Established in 2007, Maximus offers omni channel solutions for the BFSI, Transit, Smart Cities, Retail and Telecom sectors. Its EFT switching, digital payments, reconciliation, fraud & risk management and cash management solutions use innovative technologies and are state-of-the-art. The product portfolio of the company covers full digital payment, assisted payment and card-based payment rails for Rupay, VISA, MasterCard and other international schemes. Maximus delivers unparalleled service levels to its customers spread across ten countries under both hosted and on-premise deployment models. Its payment products are PA-DSS certified and the IT processing infrastructure is PCI-DSS and ISO/IEC 27001:13001 certified.

India's RuPay Card in Bahrain Soon: PM Modi

Manama, Aug 24 (PTI) Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday said the RuPay card will soon be launched in Bahrain after India and the Gulf nation signed a MoU to allow the Indian expatriates hassle-free money transfer at cheaper costs.

RuPay card scheme was launched in 2012 to fulfil the Reserve Bank of India's vision to have a domestic, open and multilateral system of payments.

"I am glad that you will be able to transact in Bahrain soon with RuPay card. Today there is a MoU signed for use of RuPay card," the prime minister told thousands of Indians assembled at the Bahrain National Stadium here.

"Our intention is to provide you the facility to send money to your home in India through RuPay Card. Now you will be able to say that "Bahrain - Pay with RuPay," he said.

This will also allow the Indian community in Bahrain to transact at cheaper, he said.

RuPay facilitates electronic payment at all Indian banks and financial institutions.

Earlier in the day, Modi launched the RuPay card in Abu Dhabi, making the UAE the first country in the Middle East to initiate the Indian indigenous system of electronic payment.

India has already launched the RuPay card in Singapore, Bhutan and the UAE.

The UAE was added to the list on Saturday during the prime minister's visit to Abu Dhabi.

RuPay is a highly secure network that protects against cyberhacks and is India's version of Master Card and Visa.

Today, there are close to 500 million RuPay cards in circulation in India. PTI IND AKJ

Meet NPCI - A Lesser Known Startup Behind Much Famous Unified Payments Interface (UPI)

The recent demonetisation drive by India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi took the entire country by shock, whether pleasantly or unpleasantly that we won't comment. But, the drive did end up adding two new words to the daily vocabulary of the general people of India; the first one of course being "demonetisation", and the second one was "cashless". Suddenly, after November 8 people starting talking about how to survive in a cashless economy. But, while many might not know, long before the demonetisation surprise was imposed upon us, a number of successful transaction systems such as the Immediate Payment System (IMPS), Unified Payments Interface (UPI) had already been operating in the Indian economy and had made quite a mark for themselves. And, the one name which has made these transaction systems possible is the National Payments Corporation of India.

Founded in the year 2008, Mumbai-based startup the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) is the startup which seemed to have rightly predicted the future needs of digital India. Registered as a not-for-profit company under Section 25 of the Companies Act, the NPCI has been closely guided and promoted by the RBI and the Indian Banks’ Association (IBA) as an umbrella organisation for all retail payments across India.

NPCI's main aim is to create good infrastructure for doing high-volume transactions which will end up substantially reducing transaction costs.

As of today, the NPCI is handling a whopping 20 million transactions a day, which is much more than the 2 million transactions figure a day it was handling some five years ago.

Till November this year, the NPCI shareholders consisted of an impressive 56 banks, which constitutes of private sector banks, multi-state cooperative banks, rural banks, public sector banks, and even some foreign banks. During its starting-up phase, the ten banks that originally promoted the NPCI were a good mix of public sector banks, private sector banks (ICICI Bank and HDFC Bank) and foreign banks (Citibank and HSBC).

Here are some impressive NPCI’s innovations since its inception in 2008:

National Unified USSD Platform (NUUP)

In order to enable people with even the basic of the basic phones to be able to successfully access their bank accounts and make transactions, the platform uses USSD channels on GSM phones. This particular banking system has the potential of completely transforming the future of banking for the rural masses of the country.

RuPay

Debuting in the year 2012, RuPay is probably one of the most famous innovations by the NPCI till date. RuPay is basically India’s very own domestic card scheme that is directly competing with international schemes such as the very famous MasterCard and Visa. NPCI's main aim behind RuPay is to successfully set up a domestic open-loop payment system in the country. Since RuPay transactions are processed domestically, they are cheaper than its global alternatives.

Immediate Payments System (IMPS)

With IMPS, one can send money immediately, and in real-time, from anywhere at anytime. As compared to NEFT, where the transfers are executed in batches every hour, which sometimes results in lags, IMPS transfers are instantaneous, and can be done all around the year. When it was debuted back in the year 2010, it had just a few member banks, but it is now available nationwide.

Unified Payment Interface (UPI)

Built atop NCPI's IMPS platform, the UPI has been able to do away with the need for a person to have to go through the hassle of entering the IFSC code of the recipient and add then adding them to a list and sending the money. All one has to do with UPI is to manually enter a Virtual Payment Address (VPA) which is linked to the beneficiary's bank account. This results in sending money instantly, and that too with a Mobile Phone. The UPI surely has the potential of completely changing Indian banking through a digital disruption.

National Financial Switch

It was setup by the RBI with an aim of having one common banking and retail payment system across the Indian subcontinent. Under National Financial Switch, all functional ATMs across India were linked into a common network. This allowed cardholder of a bank to withdraw cash from their respective bank's ATM as well as other bank's ATM. NFS makes it possible for any bank to join the network and enable both non-financial and NFS enables any bank to join the network and enable both financial and non-financial transactions from any ATM. As of this year, there are over a whopping 2.3 lakh ATMs connected through the NFS. This is inclusive of the 14000 White Label ATMs that are not connected to any bank.

Cheque Truncation System

Also known by the name Image-based Clearance System, the Cheque Truncation System was first implemented in the year 2010 to make cheque processing faster in the country. Under this, all the existing cheques were replaced with the standardised cheques where the cheque data would be captured at the collecting bank and an image of the cheque is then forwarded to the drawee bank. This results in speeding up the process of clearing payments, since electronic data transfer is obviously much, much faster than physical data transfer.

Finally India got its own Card Payment Gateway - RuPay

[caption id="attachment_83293" align="aligncenter" width="700"] The President of India, Shri Pranab Mukherjee dedicated ‘RuPay’ India’s own card payment network to the nation today (May 8, 2014)[/caption]

Today, Honorable President of India, Pranab Mukherjee launched India's own payment gateway named as - RuPay. Ever since the concept of RuPay was out in the public few months back, it was in the news for quite a while but now finally it was launched country-wide officially.

RuPay is an Indian domestic card scheme conceived and launched by the National Payments Corporation of India and equivalent of Visa and Mastercard, which will work on ATMs and merchant outlets like any debit or credit card works. After its launch it will surely going to give tough competition to foreign players.

India is one of the few countries in the world to have its own card payment gateway and RuPay is actually seventh such payment gateway in the world.

An indigenous system like RuPay will, hopefully, not only reduce the dependence on cash and cheque modes of settlement but will also make it easier to offer products based on specific requirements of diverse user sets within the country.

"RuPay", is the coinage of two terms Rupee and Payment. The RuPay visual identity is a modern and dynamic unit. The orange and green arrows indicate a nation on the move and a service that matches its pace. The color blue stands for the feeling of tranquility which is the people must get while owning a card of the brand ‘RuPay’. The bold and unique typeface grants solidity to the whole unit and symbolizes a stable entity.

About 240 banks, including all major public sector banks, currently issue RuPay cards to their customers, RuPay cards are also issued at about 200 cooperative and rural banks to promote financial inclusion and one of such bank is Uttar Bihar Gramin Bank

RuPay was created to fulfill the Reserve Bank of India's desire to have a domestic, open loop, and multilateral system of payments in India.

A variant of pre-paid RuPay card would shortly be launched by IRCTC, which will help in booking railway tickets. The public sector such as SBI and PNB are only included clearing settlement of RuPay card sceheme and many have already installed 25,331 RuPay cards enabled ATMS and 9,000 more ATMs would be installed in the current fiscal, said G S Sandhu, Financial Services Secretary.