Mumbai, NFAPost: The Reserve Bank of India allowed credit cards to be linked with the unified payments interface (UPI), which will enable more people to make payments using the popular platform.
At present, UPI facilitates transactions by linking savings or current accounts through users’ debit cards.
“It is proposed to allow linking of credit cards to UPI,” RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das said while announcing the regulatory moves, along with the bi-monthly policy review.
He said that to start with Rupay credit cards issued by the RBI-promoted National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) will be enabled with this facility, and the facility will be made available after system developments.
Das said the new arrangement is expected to provide more avenues and convenience to the customers in making payments through the UPI platform.
UPI has become the most inclusive mode of payment in India, with over 260 million unique users and 50 million merchants onboarded on the platform, he added.
In May, 5.95 billion transactions amounting to Rs 10.40 trillion were processed through UPI, Das said.
The interoperability of prepaid payment instruments (PPIs) has also facilitated access of PPIs to the UPI payment system for undertaking transactions, he added.
Meanwhile in 2021, the Union Cabinet, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, approved an incentive scheme to promote RuPay debit cards and low-value (up to Rs 2,000) BHIM-UPI transactions in the country.
Under the scheme, the acquiring banks will be incentivised by the government, by way of paying percentage of value of transactions (P2M) done through RuPay Debit cards and low-value BHIM-UPI modes of payments, at an estimated financial outlay of Rs 1,300 crore for a period of one year, with effect from April 1, 2021.
(Agencies)
