In a significant move, the UAE and India have entered into a strategic partnership deal to develop and introduce a domestic card scheme in the UAE, modeled after India’s RuPay card system.
The signing ceremony, attended by Sheikh Hamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the Abu Dhabi Executive Council Member, and India’s Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal during his official visit to the UAE, marked the formalization of this collaboration.
Subheading 2: Key Players:
NPCI International Payments Limited (NIPL), a wholly-owned subsidiary of the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI), has forged an agreement with Al Etihad Payments (AEP) for the implementation of the domestic card scheme (DCS) within the UAE.
While the RuPay card is the Indian equivalent of global payment giants like Mastercard and Visa, it is facilitated by the NPCI, a joint initiative of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and also the Indian Banks’ Association. AEP, on the other hand, operates as an indirect subsidiary of the Central Bank of the UAE (CBUAE).
Transforming Payment Systems:
Under the terms of the agreement, NIPL and AEP will collaborate closely to construct, launch, and operate the UAE’s national domestic card scheme.
This initiative is poised to revolutionize the UAE’s payment infrastructure, ushering in a new era of technological cooperation between India and the UAE.
Boosting Bilateral Trade and Digitization:
This partnership holds significant promise for fostering the growth of e-commerce and digital transactions in the UAE, promoting financial inclusion, supporting the UAE’s digital transformation agenda, diversifying payment options, reducing transaction costs, and enhancing the UAE’s standing as a global payments leader.
Moreover, it aligns perfectly with NIPL’s mission of sharing knowledge and expertise to assist other nations in establishing efficient and secure payment systems.
The domestic card scheme (DCS) solution, anchored on principles of sovereignty, speed to market, innovation, digitization, and strategic independence, offers a RuPay stack and value-added services such as fraud monitoring and analytics. NIPL will also play a role in crafting the operational regulations for AEP’s domestic card scheme.
RuPay’s Remarkable Reach:
RuPay, renowned for its indigenous origin, robust security, and widespread acceptance, is a formidable card payment network in India.
With more than 750 million RuPay cards in circulation, they account for over 60 percent of total cards issued in India.
These cards are issued by banks across the spectrum, including public sector, private, and small banks.
In conclusion, the partnership between the UAE and India to introduce a domestic card scheme rooted in the success of RuPay represents a significant step toward enhancing the UAE’s payment ecosystem and fostering closer ties between the two nations in finance and technology.
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