We have been hearing Visa, Mastercard, AMEX etc. for a long time and have been using them to pay for our purchases. What we don't realise while we use them is that, even while we shop at a local grocery, our transaction is processed through a multinational company headquartered in America. Swipe your card for your lunch at a restaurant in Mumbai and a share of the amount goes to a company in America. Doesn't that sound a bit odd?
Things are changing and we Indians have our own payment network now. RUPAY ! RUPAY is an initiative by NPCI (National Payments Corporation of India) to end the monopoly of international card giants in Indian market. Being a domestic company, customers get the benefit of lower charges and faster processing as the transactions are processed within India. More over concerns of data security is minimised since information doesn't leave the country.
With the launch of low cost domestic payment network, debit cards can reach even the economically unprivileged. This is a great stepping stone to including each and every Indian in the banking system.
Tie ups with Discover network will provide international acceptance to Rupay. Now Indians can swipe with pride.
