Bankers have been told to only promote RuPay cards, the domestic card network developed by the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI), over other card networks. Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman told bankers to discourage non-digital payments as much as possible, promote digital payments and the Unified Payments Interface (UPI-driven payments system and ensure that NPCI becomes a "brand India product which can be promoted elsewhere in the globe." She was speaking at the 73rd annual general meeting of the Indian Banks Association, held virtually on Tuesday. Sitharaman said she didn't think it was necessary for banks to issue any cards other than RuPay ones, especially when the card network is going international. In August this year, the NPCI set up NPCI International Payments Ltd to take its UPI and RuPay card platform abroad, in the hopes of helping payment companies and banks in foreign countries develop and upgrade their retail payments systems. "RuPay card will have to be the only card you promote. Whoever needs a card, RuPay will be the only card you would promote and I would not think it is necessary today in India when RuPay is becoming global, for Indians to be given any other card first than RuPay itself," Sitharaman said. While RuPay was developed and launched by the NPCI in 2012, card issuances on the domestic network picked up under the Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana (PMJDY) which was aimed at improving financial inclusion for the unbanked population of the country. While there are…
