India and Sri Lanka fail to reach deal on fee payments for RuPay transactions
India and Sri Lanka have failed to reach an agreement on fee payments for RuPay transactions, Live Mint reported.
According to Live Mint, India is keen to launch RuPay services in Sri Lanka, which would make it easier for businesses in both countries to benefit from tourists using the RuPay card.
However, according to persons aware of the matter, the sticking point in the rollout is the inability of Indian and Sri Lankan banks to come to an agreement on fee payments for transactions using the RuPay cards.
The persons cited above said that the Indian government proposes to scale up digital payment connectivity with Sri Lanka by introducing mutually acceptable RuPay card services. This would be an extension of UPI services that have already been launched in the island nation, facilitating mobile-based payment and settlement of transactions.
According to government officials aware of the development, although there are no active engagements for RuPay technology for Sri Lanka through NIPL (NPCI International Payments Ltd) at this point of time, central banks on both sides are engaged to see that this service is also soon available in Sri Lanka, facilitating the use of RuPay cards for shopping and withdrawing of cash from ATMs in both the countries.
However, talks on introduction of RuPay cards in Sri Lanka are facing some hurdles over the issue of commissions that banks charge for facilitating digital transaction using a branded payment system. This is expected to be resolved soon, people quoted above said, paving the way for Sri Lanka to become the third country after Bhutan and Mauritius to allow both UPI and RuPay transactions.
Queries emailed to the ministry of external affairs, the department of financial services, NPCI and Sri Lanka’s High Commission went unanswered till press time.
Currently, RuPay card services have been made available in Nepal, Bhutan, Mauritius, Singapore and United Arab Emirates.
A product of the NPCI, RuPay was launched as a financial services and payments network and was projected as India’s alternative to international card payments providers. RuPay cards were also aimed at turning India into a less-cash economy and improving the ability of Indian financial institutions to offer electronic payments services.
According to RuPay, these cards are issued by over 1,100 banks, spanning private and public sector outfits as well as cooperative banks.
Its ten core promoter banks are State Bank of India, Punjab National Bank, Canara Bank, Bank of Baroda, Union Bank of India, Bank of India, ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank, Citibank N. A. and HSBC, according to information on the RuPay website.
Over 750 million RuPay cards have been issued in India, according to the ministry of commerce and industry. This makes for more than 60% of the total cards issued in India. (Live Mint)
