Muristek
Mumbai, June 8
The RBI on Wednesday allowed credit cards to be linked with the unified payments interface (UPI), which will enable more people to make payments using the popular platform. Till now, only debit cards connected to savings bank accounts and current accounts were allowed to link up to the UPI platform.
At present, making UPI payments is free, while credit card companies usually depend on the merchant discount rate (MDR), which is charged on every usage for making merchant payments as a revenue stream.
"... the basic objective of linking credit cards to UPI is to provide a customer (with) a wider choice of payments. Currently, UPI is linked through debit cards to savings accounts or current accounts," RBI Deputy Governor T Rabi Sankar said at the customary post-policy press conference.
Earlier in the day, RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das announced that such linking will be possible starting with the credit cards issued by the RBI-promoted National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI).
He said the new arrangement will be implemented after system developments and instructions will be issued to the NPCI for the same.
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 26 crore unique users and 5 crore merchants onboarded on the platform, he added.
In May, 594.63 crore transactions amounting to Rs 10.40 lakh crore were processed through UPI, Das said. — PTI
Rupay cards to be linked first
The move 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 To start with Rupay credit cards issued by the National Payments Corporation of India will be enabled with this facility