NPCI to Launch RuPay ‘Credit Cards’ in India Soon; Union Bank Launches Select & Platinum RuPay cards

The National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) is going to commercially launch its credit cards, just like it had launched its own debit cards. The cards will be based on RuPay payment gateway and a few banks will be partnering with NPCI for this.

Speaking to reporters in Chennai, Balachandran M, chairman of NPCI said, “The Rupay Credit Cards are ready for usage and 10 banks are using it in a pilot stage. We will be launching it in a month’s time commercially”.

NPCI is also planning to launch tap-and-go-transit card in Kochi and Bengaluru by the end of this week. In most cases, public sector banks and cooperative banks will partner with RuPay in India, while private sector banks will continue to rely on Visa and MasterCard.

The organisation feels that RuPay is beneficial for Indian public sector banks because of lower transaction fees and a strong infrastructure. There will be four variants of the credit card – Select, Premium, Classic and Mudra in the order of value.

Union Bank has launched 2 RuPay credit cards

Union Bank of India has introduced the first two RuPay credit cards in the market. The two cards are Select and Platinum. Although these cards do not have NFC, they come with a lot of cash backs and value rewards that can be beneficial for the customers.

Take a look at some of the features below –

Variant/Parameters	SELECT (Super Premium)	PLATINUM (Premium)
Aadhaar Enabled	Yes – on forth line embossing	Yes – on forth line embossing
Insurance Amount	Rs 10 Lacs for loss of life or permanent disability	Rs 2 Lacs for loss of life or permanent disability
Lounge program	Four free access per year in 300+ cities across world	No access
Fuel Surcharge Waiver	Maximum Rs 75/- per card per month	Maximum Rs 75/- per card per month
Utility Bill – Cash Back Offer	Maximum Rs 50/- per card per month	Maximum Rs 50/- per card per month
Mobile Wallet Cash Back	Maximum Rs 50/- per month for a minimum transaction of Rs 500/-	Maximum Rs 50/- per month for a minimum transaction of Rs 500/-.
IRCTC – Cash Back Offer	Rs 25/- for minimum transaction of Rs 300/-	Rs 25/- for minimum transaction of Rs 300/-
HiFlyer Campaign	Every month top 25 transacting customers at POS & E-commerce will get Rs 15000/- Airline Voucher (for customers other than staff members as per NPCI policy)

NFC-enabled cards will be launched in the country in the next 9 months and soon you will be able to make contactless payments at POS terminals across India. Mind you, NFC-based transactions are still at a very nascent stage and the companies are slowly picking them up.

RuPay cards are good for people who do not want to get a Private bank credit card and want to use a simple no-nonsense credit card. Private banks have better customer service, so public sector banks might not be the most comfortable at solving your queries, but you can give it a try and see if these cards offer you value for money.

Source: Business Standard