The move is expected to help in the development of new credit products on the existing UPI infrastructure and boost acceptance across the country.
In a major boost to digital payments in the country, the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) has allowed fintech companies, such as MobiKwik, to offer their customers the facility to make unified payments interface (UPI) payments through the RuPay credit cards.
In a press release, MobiKwik said, “It is a significant milestone in India's drive towards a cashless economy and will provide customers the convenience of not having to carry their cards for payments.”
The government’s move is expected to help develop new credit products on the existing UPI infrastructure and boost their acceptance across the country.
Nalin Bansal, chief of corporate and fintech relationships and key initiatives at NPCI , said: “We are thrilled to partner with MobiKwik in this industry-first move to support credit cards on UPI. This integration will bring a seamless, digitally enabled credit card experience to Indians.”
Bansal added in the press statement from MobiKwik that the partnership would accelerate the "go-to-market efforts" and help boost the credit card penetration in the country. The facility, he said, aims to provide users with increased ease and opportunity to use their credit cards for their daily transactions.
MobiKwik highlighted that with nearly 50 million credit card users in the country, this initiative would further reinforce efforts towards a cashless economy and “drive financial inclusion”.
“Our mission is to make financial services accessible to all Indians. This offering will revolutionise the way Indians use credit cards and is aimed at driving the growth of digital finance and increasing coverage on the UPI side," said Chandan Joshi, co-founder & CEO of Consumer Payments at MobiKwik.
MobiKwik said that RuPay credit cards would be directly linked to the customers' UPI IDs so they can easily make payments by scanning the UPI QR code or using the UPI PIN for authentication.
This feature is expected to provide a smooth and secure payment experience for MobiKwik customers, besides opening new opportunities for Indian merchants to be part of the credit ecosystem without needing point-of-sale (POS) terminals.
The integration, it said, will help in the “development of new credit products on existing UPI rails” that will drive credit penetration in India. Joshi added that it will hugely benefit customers and merchants, “making digital payments even more accessible and appealing.”
RuPay credit cards are issued by all major banks, including private and public sector banks, for both commercial and retail segments. The integration is in line with the NPCI and RBI's vision to boost credit card acceptance across merchants in India.
NPCI has also permitted Paytm Payments Bank Ltd. (PPBL) recently to allow their customers UPI transactions through credit cards. It is expected to enable the feature soon.