All section Close
Image Credit: Unsplash
Visa Voices Concerns To US Govt Over India's Backing For Local Rival RuPay
Writer: Shweta Singh
She is a Journalism graduate from Delhi University, She has previously worked as a voice over artist for various cuisines and clothing brands. She is specialised in content writing, hosting anchoring and voice over.
India, 29 Nov 2021 2:39 PM GMT
Editor : Madhusree Goswami |
A mountain girl trying to make it big in the city. She loves to travel and explore and hence keen on doing on-ground stories. Giving the crux of the matter through her editing skills is her way to pay back the journalism its due credit.
Creatives : Shweta Singh
She is a Journalism graduate from Delhi University, She has previously worked as a voice over artist for various cuisines and clothing brands. She is specialised in content writing, hosting anchoring and voice over.
The company lodged a protest with the USTR saying India’s Prime Minister Modi was using nationalism to promote RuPay.
Payment giant Visa Inc. has complained to the US Government saying that India's "informal and formal" promotion of local rival RuPay is hurting company in a key market. This was found in the memos seen and first reported by Reuters.
Though the company has in public downplayed concerns about the rise of RuPay but US Government memos show Visa raised concerns about a "level playing field" in India during an August 9 meeting between US Trade Representative (USTR) Katherine Tai and company executives, including CEO Alfred Kelly. Similarly, Mastercard Inc has raised concerns with USTR. The company lodged a protest with the USTR saying India's Prime Minister Modi was using nationalism to promote RuPay.
A USTR memo said, "Visa remains concerned about India's informal and formal policies that appear to favour the business of National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) over other domestic and foreign electronic payments companies".
For years, Modi has promoted homegrown RuPay, posing a challenge to Visa and Mastercard in the fast-growing payments market. RuPay accounted for 63 per cent of India's 952 million debit and credit cards as of November 2020, according to the most recent regulatory data on the company, up from just 15 per cent in 2017.
'No Additional Favours Provided To RuPay'
Meanwhile, former NPCI CEO AP Hota hit out at international card players like Visa and MasterCard saying that the Indian government has provided no additional favours to RuPay. He asserted that international networks Visa and MasterCard's grievances stem from RuPay's inclusion in the Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana (PMJDY).
"International card players (like Visa and MasterCard) have been complaining ever since RuPay was made part of PMJDY. Had these international cards players come out with credible and relevant products on financial inclusion, I am sure, they too would have been included," he said.
Also Read : 'Thand ke Sipahi' Woman Sub-Inspector donates blankets to people in need
Must Reads
We are an independent and public-spirited digital media platform for Indian millennials. We report news and issues that matter as well as give you the opportunity to take action.
