NEW DELHI: The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Wednesday approved the linking of credit cards to UPI platforms, beginning with Rupay cards.
Until now, only debit cards connected to savings bank accounts and current accounts were allowed to link up with the UPI platform.
"... The basic objective of linking credit cards to UPI is to provide a customer (with) a wider choice of payments,’’ Reserve Bank Deputy Governor T Rabi Sankar told reporters.
UPI has become the most inclusive mode of payment in India, with over 26 crore unique users and 5 crore merchants on board the platform, he added.
In May, 594.63 crore transactions amounting to Rs 10.40 lakh crore were processed through UPI.
To a specific question pointing out the differences between UPI and credit cards from a usage fees perspective, and how they are exactly opposite, Sankar said going into the pricing structure for such a service right now will be akin to jumping the gun.
"How the pricing of that will work out, we will have to see because pricing is something banks will have to do. The system entities will have to do. At this point, we will introduce the arrangement, and pricing we will see how it goes," Sankar said.
The Rupay network -- billed as an indigenous alternative taking on global biggies like Mastercard and Visa -- has a low market share in the segment.
