India, UAE domestic card scheme will pave way to seamless payment for residents, says envoy

The ambassador underlined that more than 750 million RuPay cards are in circulation in India

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Published: Thu 5 Oct 2023, 8:23 PM

Indian Ambassador to the UAE, Sunjay Sudhir, said the implementation of the new domestic card scheme will facilitate seamless transactions for residents in the UAE and India.

A new strategic partnership agreement has been inked for developing and launching of the UAE’s domestic payment card scheme based on India’s RuPay card stack. NPCI International Payments Limited (NIPL), a wholly-owned subsidiary of the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI), inked an agreement with Al Etihad Payments (AEP) for the implementation of the scheme in the UAE. While RuPay is facilitated by the NPCI, an initiative of Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and the Indian Banks’ Association, AEP is an indirect subsidiary of the Central Bank of UAE (CBUAE).

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“The UAE is trying to develop its domestic credit card system. And India has done it long back, about 12 years back. We have a robust domestic credit card,” Sudhir said highlighting about RuPay card scheme, which was launched in India in 2012.

The ambassador underlined that more than 750 million RuPay cards are in circulation in India.

“So, seeing the strength of our RuPay card, there was a strong interest from the UAE side to have our domestic card because they also want to develop self-reliance. After a few months of discussions, the agreement was signed today (on Thursday) under which we will be sharing with them our RuPay card stack.”

Sudhir noted that the new scheme will lead to seamless payment in both countries.

“Once this scheme is implemented in the UAE, then any Indian coming here with the RuPay card will be able to seamlessly pay. At the same time, any Emirati or a resident of this country with a credit or a debit card from the domestic card scheme of the UAE can make a seamless payment when they come to India,” he added.

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