<ul><li>The RBI and the Monetary Authority of Singapore have partnered to provide instant, low-cost cross-border fund transfers between both countries. </li><li>The project, which links Unified Payments Interface (<keyword id="6358921" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="upi" source="Orion">UPI</keyword>) and PayNow of Singapore, is expected to go live by July 2022. </li><li>Once operationalised, the linkage will further anchor trade, travel and remittance flows between the two countries.</li></ul>The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and the Monetary Authority of Singapore have joined hands to link their immediate payment networks, which would allow individuals and businesses to make instant, low-cost fund transfers between both countries. The project, which links Unified Payments Interface (UPI) and PayNow of Singapore, is expected to go live by July 2022. Once operationalised, the linkage will further anchor trade, travel and remittance flows between the two countries. “The UPI-PayNow linkage is a significant milestone in the development of infrastructure for cross-border payments between India and Singapore, and closely aligns with the G20’s financial inclusion priorities of driving faster, cheaper and more transparent cross-border payments,” the RBI said in a press release on Sep. 14. G20, or the Group of 20, is a multilateral forum that focuses on international cooperation on international economic and financial agenda. India is a partner country to G20, but Singapore is not. The forum’s members account for more than 80% of world GDP, 75% of global trade and 60% of the world’s population. The linkage, it said, builds on the past efforts of the NPCI International Private Limited (NIPL) and Network for Electronic Transfers (NETS) to facilitate cross-border interoperability of payments using cards and QR codes, between India and Singapore. The initiative, it said, was also in-line with the RBI’s vision of reviewing corridors and charges for inbound cross-border remittances, as outlined in the <a href="https://rbi.org.in/scripts/BS_PressReleaseDisplay.aspx?prid=47045">Payment Systems Vision Document 2019-21</a>. UPI is India’s mobile based, 'fast payment' system that allows customers to make round the clock payments using a Virtual Payment Address (VPA) created by the customer, while PayNow is the fast payment system of Singapore which enables peer-to-peer funds transfer service.

You can send to and receive money from Singapore via UPI in a year from now

Pune, Mar 1 () Telcos are citing free voice calls to duck action on poor quality of service, but that will not pass regulatory muster, Trai Chairman R S Sharma said on Sunday, assuring users that the issue of call drops remains on its agenda. The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) head said the watchdog's earlier provision for a penalty on telcom firms for call drops was successfully challenged in the Supreme Court, but the regulator will continue to work for improving the quality of service. "Most of the telcos are offering voice free, their argument is that if something is free, how much can you (Trai) punish me because I am not getting anything for that, which may not be correct because they are essentially cross-subsidising," Sharma said at the Asia Economic Dialogue here. The comments come amid continuing call drops being experienced by subscribers across the country. After the entry of Reliance Jio in 2016, voice calling has become virtually free as it is getting embedded in the data plans. This has resulted in entrenched operators losing their biggest revenue stream, which has led to financial troubles. Sharma acknowledged the problem of call drops and added that "hopefully" the service quality will get better over time. Trai officials conduct standard tests on roads, trains and other busy spots and any operator found to be giving poor service is punished, he said. Speaking at the conference co-organised by the Ministry of External Affairs and the Pune International Centre, he also urged citizens to come forward by allowing erection of telecom tower infrastructure, adding that there are no health hazards because of the same. He also pitched for last-mile telecom infrastructure to be erected to ensure people get faster connectivity in their apartments in high-rises. In his speech, Sharma also mentioned that the lowest tariffs in the world might be the reason why telecom companies are having a tough time in the country at present, but did not elaborate. On the upcoming 5G technology, Sharma said it requires investment in infrastructure building and marked out optical fibre cable (OFC) laying as a crucial task, stating that there is a heavy dependence on wireless data transfer in India and there is a need for wired access as well. He said there are sufficient number of use cases and applications of 5G which are available. Sharma, who has also been associated with the Aadhaar project, said he has written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi to adopt a "digital diplomacy" strategy, wherein New Delhi extends its know-how on projects like the biometric ID or payment systems to countries in Africa and Asia. Speaking at the same event, National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) Chief Executive Dilip Asbe said a trial run of its Unified Payments Interface (UPI) is set to be carried out at a Singapore merchant on Sunday, which will herald the internationalisation of the domestic payments system. He said a code will be scanned by a BHIM app to pay at the merchant's end in Singapore and the transaction settled. Asbe also said the NPCI has been generating sufficient revenues to sustain its developmental activities. AA ABMABM

Free voice calls no excuse for poor service quality, says Trai chief

<ul><li>The spokesperson for the Indian <keyword id="6374106" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="ministry-of-external-affairs">Ministry of External Affairs</keyword> (MEA), Anurag Srivastava, said the Indian government has been creating infrastructure along border areas to facilitate economic development.</li><li>According to him, the only way to restore peace and tranquility along the India-China border areas is best done by adhering to ‘all relevant agreements.’</li><li>He also reiterated that Ladakh and Arunachal Pradesh are an ‘integral part’ of Indian territory and the same has been communicated to China at the highest levels, multiple times.</li></ul>The Chinese Foreign Ministry recently cited India’s border roads as the root cause of friction between the two Asian giants. However, the Indian Ministry of External Affairs has hit back saying that the development of infrastructure in border areas is being done to push economic development in those regions. “The government has given careful and specific attention to the improvement of infrastructure for the development of border areas,” said <keyword id="198527" type="POSITION" weightage="20" keywordseo="MEA-spokesperson">MEA spokesperson</keyword> Anurag Srivastava. He added that development of border infrastructure is an important part of meeting India’s strategic and security requirements. China’s comments were a reaction to Defence Minister Rajnath Singh inaugurating 44 new bridges, including eight in Ladakh, either in Jammu and Kashmir, two in Himachal Pradesh and four each in Punjab and Sikkim. “As for restoration of peace and tranquility in the India-china border areas, this is best done by scrupulously observing all relevant agreements in their entirety,” said Srivastava. Arunachal Pradesh and Ladakh are an ‘integral part’ of India China recently renounced Ladakh and Arunachal Pradesh as parts of the Indian territory. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson claimed that India had ‘illegally’ established the Union Territory and opposed the infrastructure development in the area. “The Indian territories of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh have been, are and would remain an integral part of India,” said Srivastava. He added that Arunachal Pradesh is also an ‘integral part’ of the Indian territory and that this fact has been conveyed to the Chinese side on several occasions, including at the highest levels. According to him, China has ‘no local standard ‘to comment on India’s internal matters. SEE ALSO: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/finance/banks/news/pnb-yes-bank-central-bank-of-india-idbi-and-six-more-indian-banks-are-the-worst-performing-bank-stocks-in-asia-pacific/articleshow/78679569.cms">10 out of 15 worst-performing bank stocks in Asia-Pacific are Indian — PNB, YES Bank, Central Bank of India, IDBI among them</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/news/whatsapp-google-amazon-and-facebook-under-the-scanner-for-data-protection-violations-as-supreme-court-calls-on-rbi-and-npci-to-investigate/articleshow/78678174.cms">Whatsapp, Google, Amazon and Facebook under the scanner for data protection violations as Supreme Court calls on RBI and NPCI to investigate</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/defense/news/chinese-president-xi-jinping-tells-marine-troops-to-be-on-high-alert-and-prepare-for-war/articleshow/78675715.cms">Chinese President Xi Jinping tells marine troops to be on ‘high alert’ and ‘prepare for war’ as tensions in the South China Sea continue to grow</a>

Border infrastructure is not the cause of friction between India and China, says MEA spokesperson

New Delhi, <keyword id="102024" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="The-Reserve-Bank-of-India">The Reserve Bank of India</keyword> on Tuesday published the draft framework for authorisation of a new pan-India umbrella organisation for retail payment systems, apart from the <keyword id="6383340" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="national-payments-corporation-of-india">National Payments Corporation of India</keyword> (NPCI) which developed the widely-used UPI payment system in August 2016. The new entity proposed by the central bank should have a minimum paid-up capital of Rs 500 crore and no single promoter or promoter group should have more than 40 per cent investment in the capital of the New Umbrella Entity (NUE). "The promoter or promoter group shareholding shall be diluted to a minimum of 25 per cent after 5 years of the commencement of business of the NUE. A minimum net-worth of Rs 300 crore shall be maintained at all times," the RBI said on Tuesday. The proposed umbrella body will set up, manage and operate new payments systems, especially in the retail space, comprising of but not limited to ATMs, White Label PoS, Aadhaar-based payments and remittance services. It will develop new payment methods, standards and technologies and also operate clearing and settlement systems. The NUE will also be responsible for monitoring retail payments system developments and related issues in the country and internationally to avoid shocks, frauds and contagions that may adversely affect the system. The entity will have to fulfill the norms of corporate governance along with 'fit and proper' criteria for persons to be appointed to its board. The RBI will have the right to approve the appointment of directors and also nominate a member to the board.

Retail payment systems should have a minimum corpus for Rs 500 crore, says RBI

<ul><li>The <keyword id="1783182" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="NUE">NUE</keyword> licence would enable the entity to hold pan-India control in payments, rivalling the likes of the government backed National Payments Corporation of India.</li><li>Reliance has reportedly signed up with Google and Facebook to set up a ‘new umbrella entity’ (NUE), which will be promoted by RIL and Infibeam Avenues’ So Hum Bharat.</li><li><keyword id="6355725" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="tata-group">Tata Group</keyword>, <keyword id="18635" type="CITY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Amazon">Amazon</keyword> and Paytm too have formed their own consortiums to apply for the licence.</li></ul>When <keyword id="3820" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Mukesh-Ambani">Mukesh Ambani</keyword> signed up for a $5.7 billion cheque from Mark Zuckerberg in April, 2020, he made a promise to the Facebook founder to help boost their payments innovations in India. While WhatsApp pay is yet to take off, one year later, it seems Ambani is delivering on that promise through another route which can only be bigger. Reliance has <a href="https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/tech/tech-bytes/reliance-partners-google-facebook-in-seeking-nue-licence-from-rbi/articleshow/81237979.cms">reportedly </a>signed up with Google and Facebook to set up a ‘new umbrella entity’ (NUE), which will be promoted by RIL and Infibeam Avenues’ So Hum Bharat. Infibeam Avenues’ currently runs the payments gateway CCAvenue. India’s central bank had floated the bid for NUE licences in August, 2020. The NUE licence would enable the entity to hold pan-India control in payments, rivalling the likes of the government backed National Payments Corporation of India. NPCI is an initiative backed by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and Indian Banks’ Association (IBA) which acts as an umbrella entity that operates retail payments and settlements. The NUE licence would give the companies the opportunity to set up, manage and operate “ATMs, White Label PoS; Aadhaar based payments and remittance services; develop new payment methods, standards and technologies; monitor related issues in the country and internationally; take care of developmental objectives like enhancement of awareness about the payment systems,” according to the RBI guidelines. The RBI, which had initially set a deadline of February 26, 2021 for the application of the licences, recently extended it until March 31, 2021. According to <a href="https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/tech/tech-bytes/reliance-partners-google-facebook-in-seeking-nue-licence-from-rbi/articleshow/81237979.cms?from=mdr">reports</a>, RBI is initially going to give out only two NUE licences. Competition is high A stake in the control over India’s burgeoning digital payments market, which sees over 93 million transactions worth $12 billion daily, as per a report by HDFC Securities from December, 2020, is an opportunity that Reliance isn’t the only one vying for. <div type="image" title="payments transaction." msid="81268420" hostid="261"></div> The 152-year old conglomerate Tata Group, which is looking to build its own Super App spread across retail and payments, has <a href="https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/tech/tech-bytes/tata-group-takes-over-sbi-bid-for-nue-licence-from-rbi/articleshow/81237978.cms">reportedly</a> taken over the bid initially expressed by State Bank of India and Bank of Baroda. The Tatas are bidding through their subsidiary company Ferbine Private Limited, in which HDFC Bank and Kotak Mahindra Bank had already picked up a 9.99% stake each. The deal is also backed by Mastercard, PayU and Reliance’s telecom competitor Bharti Airtel. In an exchange filing declaring its stake in Tata-owned Ferbine, Kotak Mahindra Bank had said, “The main business of the company would be to operating a pan-India umbrella entity for retail payment systems, as would be allowed/licenced by RBI, subject to the approval of the NUE application.” <keyword id="191583" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Jeff-Bezos">Jeff Bezos</keyword>’ e-commerce firm Amazon, which has been bullish about the Indian payments sector and rolled out its own product Amazon Pay, <a href="https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/tech/tech-bytes/amazon-icici-bank-axis-bank-ready-with-nue-plan-to-rival-npci-upi/articleshow/81181363.cms">has partnered</a> with ICICI Bank, Axis Bank and others for the NUE licence. Meanwhile, India’s digital payments poster boy Vijay Shekhar Sharma too isn’t one to miss out on the opportunity. Paytm too has<a href="https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/tech/technology/paytm-ola-and-indusind-bank-team-up-to-apply-for-nue-license/articleshow/81217427.cms"> reportedly</a> partnered with Induslnd Bank, Ola Financial and others to bid for the licence. The partnerships have sprung up as the RBI mandates that ‘no single promoter/promoter group shall have more than 40% investment in the capital of the NUE’. The latest developments in the payments sector with the Tata Group, Reliance and Amazon is just the latest in the rivalry between the three companies, who are already competing in the Indian retail sector. The Tata Group is eyeing a 68% stake in Indian grocery e-retail startup BigBasket. The Indian e-grocery sector is heating up with the world’s richest man Jeff Bezos betting on it with Amazon Pantry, India’s richest man Mukesh Ambani upping the game with JioMart. SEE ALSO: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/news/elon-musk-and-reliance-industries-mukesh-ambani-compete-in-energy-storage-skytran-and-hyperloop/articleshow/81266903.cms">Elon Musk is facing a challenge from Asia’s richest man Mukesh Ambani in India⁠— both in energy and transportation</a>

EXPLAINED: The NUE licence for payments that Tata, Ambani and Bezos have applied for

<ul><li>Some of the biggest banks in India are joining hands to create a new company that will leverage the power of <keyword id="6357624" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="blockchain-technology">blockchain technology</keyword> to speed up the processing of Letters of Credit (LCs).</li><li><keyword id="36838" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="indian-banks">Indian Banks</keyword>' Blockchain Infrastructure Company Private Limited (IBBIC) is a coalition of 15 banks, including <keyword id="6653" type="CITY" weightage="20" keywordseo="ICICI-bank">ICICI Bank</keyword>, <keyword id="6357149" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="hdfc-bank">HDFC Bank</keyword>, <keyword id="2179992" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="RBL-Bank">RBL Bank</keyword>, SBI and Canara Bank.</li><li>The system will be based on Infosys’ Finacle Connect, a blockchain-based platform that enables digitisation and automation of trade-related finance processes.</li></ul>Banks in India are coming together to use blockchain technology to solve a central problem in traditional banking — the processing of Letters of Credit (LCs), GST invoices, and e-way bills. India’s largest public sector bank, the State Bank of India (SBI), along with ICICI Bank, Kotak Mahindra, Axis Bank, and 11 others have <a href="https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/industry/banking/finance/banking/15-banks-to-start-new-trade-finance-system-using-blockchain-tech/articleshow/83545043.cms?from=mdr">formed</a> a new company called the Indian Banks’ Blockchain Infrastructure Company Private Limited (IBBIC) that will be at the helm of this transformation. The move is expected to eliminate paperwork, reduce transaction processing time, and offer a secure environment. Moreover, it could be a boon for medium and small-scale enterprises (MSMEs). For those who aren’t familiar with LCs, these are letters from a bank that guarantee that a buyer will pay the seller on time, and for the correct amount. Currently, the process of issuing an LC is relatively slow and requires human intervention to prevent frauds, authenticate transactions, and balance the ledger. Using blockchain to issue LCs would potentially solve these issues. Even elemental fraud like the issuance of two LCs on a single invoice can be easily prevented with the help of this blockchain technology. <div type="ExtQuote" text="“Disbursements on domestic LCs, which used to take four to five days, can be done in four hours.”" auname="Varun Bakshi, head of products and transaction banking at RBL Bank, said in a statement"></div> The new system is expected to go live within a year and each bank has an equal stakeholdership of 6.66%. It’ll be designed to be open, making it seamless for other banks to join anytime in the future. What do MSMEs have to gain from this? The technology is purely based on the concept of tokenisation. This helps turn sensitive data into nonsensitive data that can be leveraged by multiple parties in a series. It also helps preserve the authenticity of data and indirectly enables digitisation. Simply put, a basic invoice can be turned into a token, which can then be used to settle payments, overheads, and other adjustments. For medium and small scale enterprises (MSMEs), this could be a game-changing innovation. Through all of its transactions, assets, liabilities, and more, tokenisation would make approvals quick, disbursements and settlements would be instantaneous, and the chances of fraud are minimised. The incorporation of IBBIC is starkly similar to that of the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI), which is an umbrella organization that handles critical real-time products like RuPay, UPI, and FASTag. It was formed in 2008 and initially had just 10 banks as stakeholders. The cooperative model has been widely acclaimed as banks kept aside their individual ambitions and collaborated at an unprecedented scale. With the adoption of <a href="https://wazirx.com/signup?invite=2kpah6gr&amp;utm_source=business-insider&amp;utm_medium=referral&amp;utm_campaign=microsite">blockchain</a>, banks are again presenting a unified front. And, as the industry benefits, each bank will have something to gain as well. If they try to undermine each other, nobody wins. <a href="https://wazirx.com/signup?invite=2kpah6gr&amp;utm_source=business-insider&amp;utm_medium=referral&amp;utm_campaign=microsite">Cryptocurrencies</a>, which are based on this technology, have grown exponentially in the last year. However, conventional financial intuitions are yet to take advantage of it. While the authorities figure out a way to <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/cryptocurrency/news/infosys-co-founder-nandan-nilekani-wants-crypto-in-india-to-be-treated-as-an-asset-class-but-not-a-currency/articleshow/83311045.cms">regulate cryptocurrencies</a>, banks are taking a step forward and bridging the gap from a technology point of view. Who are the stakeholders? Out of the 15 banks, eleven are privately held by investors while four are public sector units. The private banks include HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Axis Bank, IndusInd Bank, Yes Bank, RBL Bank, IDFC Bank, South Indian Bank, and Federal Bank. And, the public sector units encompass Bank of Baroda, SBI, Canara Bank, and Indian Bank. American lender Standard Chartered is the only international player in the consortium. The system will be based on Infosys’ Finacle Connect, a blockchain-based platform that enables digitisation and automation of trade-related finance processes. The technology has already been deployed or piloted by the likes of SBI and Axis Bank at an individual scale, but an industry-wide alliance is a first. Letters of Credit are only the beginning Domestic LCs are just the tip of the iceberg. The industry has been exploring more complex use-cases such as collateralised loan disbursal, deeper credit rating, and even transaction traceability. Tokenisation of assets like stocks, bonds, registration certificates, and more can make them instantly available as collateral, making deals far safer for lenders. At the same time, smart contracts ensure frauds are minimal. While these case studies are still in a nascent form, the future looks promising as the traditional institutions converge with millennial engineers and the cutting-edge of technology. SEE ALSO: <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/stock-market/news/dodla-dairy-ipo-price-gmp-should-you-subscribe/articleshow/83548332.cms">Dodla Dairy IPO – find out if you should subscribe to this Hyderabad-based dairy company’s stock</a> <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/stock-market/news/kims-ipo-price-gmp-should-you-subscribe/articleshow/83547843.cms">KIMS IPO – most analysts are bullish on the hospital chain’s prospects</a> <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/policy/news/china-will-not-buy-iron-copper-aluminum-zinc-and-some-other-commodities-from-foreign-countries/articleshow/83565216.cms">China has decided to take global commodity bulls by their horns ⁠— to protect the profit margins of its small businesses</a>

SBI, HDFC, ICICI and 12 others banks are joining forces to use blockchain to power Letters of Credit — a move that could be a boon for MSMEs

New Delhi, Dec 28 () In a bid to promote digital payments, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Saturday said no MDR charges will be applicable on transactions through homegrown RuPay and UPI platforms beginning January 1, 2020.
Department of Revenue (DoR) will soon notify RuPay and UPI as the prescribed mode of payment for digital transactions without any Merchant Discount Rate (MDR), she said after meeting with CEOs of public sector banks here.
Accordingly, all companies with a turnover of Rs 50 crore or more will be mandated by DoR to provide the facility of payment through RuPay Debit card and UPI QR code to their customers, she said.
MDR is the cost paid by a merchant to a bank for accepting payment from their customers via digital means. The merchant discount rate is expressed in percentage of the transaction amount.
"After extensive consultation with stakeholders, banks and so on. I'm happy to say that announcement which was made in the budget will see the notification coming on January 1, 2020 whereby those modes which are getting notified will not have charges under the MDR being levied on them," she said.
Indigenously developed digital payment medium like RuPay and BHIM UPI will now have edge over the payment gateway promoted by foreign companies.
In her Budget speech in July, Sitharaman had proposed that businesses should offer low cost digital modes of payment such as BHIM UPI, UPI QR Code, Aadhaar Pay, Debit Cards, NEFT, RTGS etc. to their customers, and no charge or MDR shall be imposed on customers to promote digital payment.
"I, therefore, propose that the business establishments with annual turnover more than Rs 50 crore shall offer such low-cost digital modes of payment to their customers and no charges or Merchant Discount Rate shall be imposed on customers as well as merchants.
"RBI and banks will absorb these costs from the savings that will accrue to them on account of handling less cash as people move to these digital modes of payment," she had said.
She further said that all banks will also start a campaign to popularise RuPay Debit card and UPI in order to strengthen the digital payment eco-system and move towards less-cash economy.
The finance minister said the government has already amended two laws -- Income Tax Act and the Payments and Settlement Systems Act, 2007 -- to give effect to these provisions.
The meeting was attended chief executive of Indian Banks' Association and representatives of leading private sector banks.
Finance Secretary, Revenue Secretary, Electronics and Information Technology Secretary, CBI Director, RBI representative and the chief executive officer of NPCI were also present in the meeting.
Besides, the minister launched a common e-auction platform to sell attached assets of defaulters for improved realisation of value.
The platform is equipped with property search features and navigational links to all PSB e-auction sites, provides single-window access to information on properties up for e-auction as well as facility for comparison of similar properties, and also contains photographs and videos of uploaded properties.
As per the latest data, a total of 35,000 properties have been uploaded on the platform by PSBs.
PSBs have attached assets worth over Rs 2.3 lakh crore over the last three financial years.
To strengthen banks, in addition to the recent infusion of Rs 60,314 crore, additional infusion of Rs 8,855 crore (Rs 4,360 crore to Indian Overseas Bank, Rs 2,153 crore to Allahabad Bank, Rs 2,142 crore to UCO Bank and Rs 200 crore to Andhra Bank) has been approved and would be released shortly.
Having improved asset quality and internal resource generation, PSBs are now fully poised to support prudential credit growth towards a USD 5 trillion economy by 2025. DP DP BAL
BAL

No MDR charges applicable on payment via RuPay, UPI from Jan 1: FM

<img class="gwt-Image" src="/photo/49828396.cms" />Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s speech on emergence of <keyword id="597447" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Rupay">RuPay</keyword> cards at the Delhi Economics Conclave hinted RuPay could end the dominance of <keyword id="6368201" type="CITY" weightage="20" keywordseo="MasterCard">MasterCard</keyword> and <keyword id="6359421" type="CITY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Visa">Visa</keyword>. 
 
Apparently, the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) is also looking to promote RuPay, which is an alternative to MasterCard and Visa. 
 
The competition in debit and credit card space, which is dominated by the international market, can take India a long way. In this regard, RuPay, which was launched in 2012, has done well for itself, as reportedly 36% of debit cards in India is RuPay, claimed by Modi. 
 
ET reported that following the initiatives of the government on financial inclusion, the NPCI, jointly owned by banks, is making strong headway in the business. 
 
AP Hota, MD and chief at NPCI, told ET, "We have one-thirds market share and it is growing gradually. We have 20% market share in transactions and that percentage is growing month-on-month. Every day there are 10 million transactions done via cards and RuPay is at 2 million and picking up." 
 
Modi’s Jan Dhan Yojana gave RuPay a new lease of life as out of 222 million RuPay cards in circulation, nearly 170 million are linked to Jan-Dhan accounts and only 52 million cards are mainstream as of October. 
 
However, RuPay still has a long way to go as they are used for 20% of the overall transaction of more than 2 million a day. 
 
Experts point out that that market should be competition driven than mandate-driven competition. 
 
As per reports, for every point of sale and e-commerce transaction RuPay charges a fixed fee of 90 paise - 60 paise from the issuing bank and 30 paise from the acquiring bank, while Visa and MasterCard would charge Rs 3 per transaction. 
 
"The government wanted PMJDY cards to be done in a period of one year and we gave 170 million cards. I wonder if Visa and MasterCard could have achieved this. The government wanted us to do Mudra cards. In just one week we did the design, issuance and product rollout of the cards.Who could have done this? I wonder if they (Visa and MasterCard) could have done this within 6 months,” said Hota. 
 
(Image: Indiatimes)

Visa and MasterCard has a serious Indian competitor which has PM Modi’s complete support

<img class="gwt-Image" src="/photo/57060199.cms" /><a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=hitachi+payment+services&amp;sortorder=effectivedate">Hitachi Payments Services </a>has accepted its systems were compromised by a sophisticated malware in 2016, which triggered one of the <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=massive+data+breach&amp;sortorder=effectivedate">biggest cyber security breaches in India</a>. 
 
The massive security breach had affected 3.2 million cards. The <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=National+Payments+Corporation+of+India+&amp;sortorder=effectivedate">National Payments Corporation of India </a>(NPCI) had stated more than 600 customers had reported losses of at least Rs 1.3 crore due to the breach. 
 <keyword id="3770748" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="hitachi-payments-services">Hitachi Payments Services</keyword>, a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Japanese Hitachi, acknowledged the breach after it received final assessment report from payments and information security audit firm SISA Information Security. 
 
In what poses more scope for worries, the company said the amount of data exfiltrated is "unascertainable due to secure deletion by the malware". 
 
"We confirm that our security systems had a breach during mid-2016," its Managing Director Loney Anthony said, adding this happened despite following adequate security measures and adopting the standards of internationally- accepted best practices. 
 
The compromise period has been identified between May 21 and July 11. It had come out in public after a slew of banks, including those not serviced by Hitachi, approached customers making either card replacements or ATM PIN changes compulsory. 
 
"Hitachi Payment Services regrets the inconvenience caused to banks and its customers due to this lapse in its security infrastructure. We assure you of our highest commitment to building a robust infrastructure in our systems and preventing such cyber frauds in future," Anthony said. 
 
Quoting the SISA report, the Hitachi statement said a sophisticated malware (a piece of malicious software code) was injected in Hitachi Payment Services' systems, which led to compromise the details of debit cards. 
 
The malware had been able to "work undetected and had concealed its tracks during the compromise period", it added.

Hitachi Payments Services owns-up to 2016 breach in India, says amount of data exfiltrated “unascertainable”

MUMBAI: For the first time in their 30-year existence, Visa and MasterCard, the world's largest payment companies, are facing the heat in India. Lending its weight behind the local card scheme, RuPay, the government has asked state-owned banks to issue RuPay debit cards to customers. 
 
In a communique to banks last week, Gurdial Singh Sandhu, secretary at the finance ministry's department of financial services, "urged" CEOs of public sector banks to issue RuPay cards to all existing customers who do not have debit cards as well as to new clients. Banks have also been told to "encourage" merchant establishments to install point of sale terminals for RuPay cards, two banking sources told ET. 
 
While banks have not been instructed to refrain from issuing cards where transactions are processed by Visa or MasterCard, there is a clear direction to promote RuPay. Customers are typically issued a single debit card per account and banks will have to pursue the unconventional practice and possibly tweak systems to issue two debit cards to a client who insists on a Visa or MasterCard that currently have greater acceptance than RuPay. 
 
RuPay was launched by National Payments Corp of India (NPCI), set up to function as a cost-effective payment services entity. Responding to ET's query on whether PSU banks could lose rich and more brand-conscious customers to private banks (which have not received a similar direction from the finance ministry), AP Hota, MD &amp; CEO of NPCI, said, "Such fears are unfounded. RuPay is a fully functional card payment system. We are also launching Platinum cards for HNI customers." 
 
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"I'm not aware of the ministry's communication to banks. But as I understand, the government's focus is to promote financial inclusion," said Hota of NPCI. 
 
For banks, it's a mandate they will have to fulfil. Within the next six months they will have to offer the new debit card to existing customers, inform thousands of branches and submit progress report to the ministry every quarter. 
 
It's not unusual for countries and governments to support local retail payment networks that offer the software backbone and process card transactions. Countries such as Singapore and Brazil have their local payment companies while China disallows foreign payment firms to process domestic card transactions. But industry sources said an absence of a level playing field may worry global players such as Visa and MasterCard. 
 
For MNC payment firms, the stakes are high. Every year around Rs 80,000 crore worth of debit card spends happen in India, of which 5% are cross-border transactions. It's a market that's growing at close to 35% annually. Credit card transactions, growing at over 25%, are more than two times debit card spends. 
 Asked whether RuPay would be accepted for transactions such as buying books and music on international e-commerce sites, Hota said NPCI was tying up with the US firm <keyword id="981469" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="40" keywordseo="Discover-Financial">Discover Financial</keyword> Services to promote co-branded cards to facilitate international transactions. 
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	The fledging card scheme is trying to spread its footprint. So far,A 20 million cards have been issued. "It has full acceptance in ATMs, and of the 10.35 lakh POS (point of sale) terminals in the country, RuPay can be accepted in 9.87 lakh terminals. About 95% of debit card transactions are domestic in nature," said SK Gupta, chief project officer, RuPay. But not all merchant establishments are familiar with RuPay and few display RuPay stickers (along with Visa and MasterCard) on their counters. Till now, POS transactions worth Rs 40 crore have happened through RuPay.

Government Asks PSU Banks To Issue RuPay Debit Cards To Customers, Install POS Terminals

<img class="gwt-Image" src="/photo/45524047.cms" /> In what is being regarded as a major milestone in <keyword id="6360789" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="60" keywordseo="Modi-Government">Modi government</keyword>’s <keyword id="2412682" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="80" keywordseo="Digital-India-mission">Digital India mission</keyword>, bank accounts of 10 crore people have been linked with their <keyword id="144117" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="80" keywordseo="AADHAAR">Aadhaar</keyword> card numbers. The move would allow these individuals to digitally receive government welfare subsidies and other payments in a hassle-free manner directly into their bank accounts. 
 
If the person moves to another part of India, they can access these subsidies as the facility is portable across any bank in the country. Till date, 333 banks are live on this platform. 
 
In order to link Aadhaar number to the bank account, one needs to provide a copy of their Aadhaar letter or their e-Aadhaar to the bank branch in which he/she holds the account. Once the account is seeded, it can be used by central government departments to transfer subsidies directly into this bank account. 
 
And just by dialling *99*99# on their mobile phones, residents can check status of the Aadhaar-Bank account linkage. To avail this facility, which is provided by National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI), you need to pay Rs 1.50 per enquiry. 
 
The Aadhaar identity platform is the largest biometric database in the world and serves users ranging from LPG consumers, MNREGA workers, PDS, remittance and scholarship beneficiaries, etc. – all using their Aadhaar number to avail benefits. 
 
Till December 9, 2014, nearly eight crore transactions have been carried out through the Aadhaar Payment Bridge for various welfare programs of the BJP government, which amounted to Rs 5,151.51crore. 
 
On Dec 12, 2014, issuance of Aadhaars crossed the Rs 72 crore-mark across the country. 
 The <keyword id="86474" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="60" keywordseo="Unique-Identification-Authority-of-India">Unique Identification Authority of India</keyword> (<keyword id="6355252" type="CITY" weightage="60" keywordseo="UIDAI">UIDAI</keyword>), which has received national and international acclaim for the Aadhaar project, has also been declared as the best agency for “security in e-governance,” as per a press release available on Press Information Bureau. 
(Image: The Economic Times)

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