Rupay card

Why in news?

• Visa Inc has complained to the U.S. government that India's "informal and formal" promotion of domestic payments rival RuPay hurts the U.S. giant in a key market.

About Rupay card:

• RuPay is the first-of-its-kind domestic card payment network of India, with wide acceptance at ATMs, POS devices and e-commerce websites across India.
• It is a highly secure network that protects against anti-phishing. The name, derived from the words ‘Rupee and ‘Payment’, emphasizes that it is India’s very own initiative for Card payments.
• RuPay is a product of National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI)
  • NPCI is an umbrella organisation for operating retail payments and settlement systems in India
  • It is an initiative of Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and Indian Banks’ Association (IBA) under the provisions of the Payment and Settlement Systems Act, 2007, for creating a robust Payment & Settlement Infrastructure in India.
• As the transaction processing will happen domestically in Rupay card >> it would lead to lower cost of clearing and settlement for each transaction.

Issuing Banks

• Presently, RuPay cards are issued by more than 1,100 banks which includes Public Sector Banks, Private Sector Banks, Regional Rural and Co-Operative Banks.

Bharat Ecommerce Payment Gateway (BEPG)

• BEPG is the new e-commerce system to enhance the current e-commerce experience for the RuPay Cardholders.

PRELIMS QUESTION

Consider the following statements regarding ‘Rupay card’:

1. It is a product of National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI)

2. It is issued by Public Sector Banks only

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

(a) 1 only

(b) 2 only

(c) Both 1 and 2

(d) Neither 1 nor 2

Answer