You have probably heard about RuPay card when the government launched Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojona. RuPay card is an essentially Indian debit credit launched in 2014. Though it didn’t gain much hype, recently it gained more attention as the government announced free RuPay cards for all the account holders of Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojona.
RuPay is basically a debit card introduced by Indian government. Definitely, you already have a Visa or Master card and you think that, RuPay is poor man’s Visa or Master card. But that is not true, because RuPay card maintains the equal efficiency and security standard that the Master or Visa card does.
Benefits and of RuPay Card
RuPay Card is based on Indian technology and is much cheaper compared to its international counterparts. It is linked to 1.45 lakh ATMs and 8.75 lakh Point of Sales (POS) terminals across the country. The modern facilities such as online payment can also be done through it. RuPay is enrolled to more than 10,000 e-commerce websites and has proved that the acceptance is not a challenge for the card.
RuPay also maintains international standards. For instance, the card holder will get an SMS alert whenever any transaction takes place in this card. The processing fees are considerably lower compared to the regular cards. This is because the process of operation of Visa or Master card takes place in first world country where everything is quite costly. Generally the card issuing banks have to pay a transaction fee to the company which develops the technology for the card and installs the machine. Through this process, the card developers earn revenue. One can imagine that how much money India is paying to these foreign cards. If it is replaced by Indian technology, then the money will remain in India only.
Security Features
RuPay card comes with a high end technology chip named EMV (Europay, Master Card and Visa) especially for high end transactions. It also has an embedded micro processor circuit with information about the card holder. One can use the same pin what he uses for his existing card.
Will RuPay Card become a Competitor for Other Cards?
It is expected that, RuPay card will give a tough competition to Visa or Master Card. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has first developed the idea to bring a payment card based on Indian Technology.
Currently the National Payment Corporation of India (NPCI) is offering services in different platforms such as mobile technologies, ATMs, cheques services and others. In all these platforms the card is performing efficiently.
The government of India is pushing hard to give the access of RuPay among the mass. As it is a part of financial inclusion initiative, RuPay is being issued by all the banks especially public sector banks.
As on November 10, 2014 some 3.97 crore RuPay cards have been issued out of 7.24 crore Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Account. However the authority has taken the target to deliver the RuPay card to all the Jan Dhan account holders. The government is expecting that by Mach 2015, the figure will touch 160 million, with a 60% raise from the current position. As RuPay is committed to develop customized products for Indian investors, soon it will catch popularity.