Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has launched the RuPay card scheme in the UAE.
With the launch, the UAE has become the first country in West Asia to accept the Indian system of electronic payment.
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Conceived by the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI), RuPay is the first-of-its-kind payment network of India. It supports electronic payment at all banks as well as financial institutions in India.
The UAE is the third country after Singapore and Bhutan where RuPay Card has been launched.
Now, the RuPay branded credit and debit cards will be accepted at ATMs, PoS devices and ecommerce websites across the UAE.
Nearly 21 Emirati business groups including Petrochem Middle East, Lulu, NMC Healthcare and Landmark have agreed to accept RuPay-branded cards.
Prior to the launch, National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) and the UAE’s Mercury Payments Services signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to set up a technology interface between the payment platforms between the two countries.
As part of the collaboration, the NPCI and the Mercury Payments Services enabled 175,000 merchant locations and 5,000 ATM to accept RuPay cards.
Additionally, RuPay has collaborated with Japan Credit Bureau, Discover and China Union Pay to improve its global reach.
