RBI Approves The Issue Of RuPay Prepaid Forex Cards By Banks

The Reserve Bank of India on Thursday agreed to permit the issuing of RuPay Prepaid Forex cards by Indian banks for usage at ATMs, PoS devices, and online merchants abroad in order to increase the payment alternatives available to Indians going abroad.

In addition, RuPay Debit, Credit, and Prepaid Cards would be available for issue in other countries and be used abroad, including in India, according to Reserve Bank Governor Shaktikanta Das, who also announced the second bimonthly monetary policy of this fiscal year.

He remarked this while announcing the Statement on Developmental and Regulatory Policies, “These measures will increase the reach and acceptance of RuPay cards globally.”

The choice was made in light of the fact that RuPay Debit and Credit Cards issued by Indian banks are now widely accepted abroad thanks to bilateral agreements with foreign partners and co-badging agreements with global card systems.

He said that the Bharat Bill Payment System (BBPS), which has been in operation since August 2017, is a platform for “anytime, anywhere” bill payments.

“At the moment, BBPS has over 20,500 billers on board and does over 9.8 crore transactions each month. In order to facilitate in-bound cross-border bill payments, the BBPS’s scope was further enlarged in December 2022 to encompass all types of payments and collections, both recurring and non-recurring in nature.

The membership requirements for onboarding operational units in BBPS would be eased, he added, in order to increase the system’s efficiency and to promote broader participation.

The issuance of e-RUPI vouchers on behalf of individuals, the ability to issue e-RUPI vouchers through non-bank prepaid payment instruments (PPI) issuers, and the simplification of the issuance, redemption, etc. processes are all proposed as ways to broaden the use and reach of e-RUPI digital vouchers, he said.

These actions, according to him, will expand the user base for eRUPI digital vouchers and advance the penetration of digital payments in the nation.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi introduced the National Payments Corporation of India’s (NPCI) e-RUPI prepaid digital voucher in August 2021 as a person- and purpose-specific cashless voucher with a ceiling of Rs 10,000 and a one-time redemption option.

The RBI raised the limit on e-RUPI prepaid digital vouchers from Rs 10,000 to Rs 1 lakh last year and allowed for multiple uses to make it easier for recipients to access different government programs online.

A recipient receives an e-RUPI voucher on his phone in the form of an SMS or QR code. It is a pre-paid voucher that may be used at any facility that takes it.

Users may redeem the coupon using this one-time contactless, cashless payment method without a card, a digital wallet, or online banking access.