RBI Announces Rupay, Our Very Own Rupee Card

In a boost to India's nascent payment ecosystem, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) is readying to launch the Rupay card, a domestic counter to leading global credit card companies AmEx, Visa and MasterCard.

The National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) will launch a debit/ ATM card followed by a credit card. The name and logo have been finalised and IT consultancy firm Ernst & Young has been roped in to develop the architecture, design and software for the Rupay card, according to India Today.

We can expect the commercial launch of Rupay in a few months.

Nine banks including public, private and foreign sector banks will be part of the Rupay. They own stakes in NPCI, which was set up by the RBI and will be regulated by the body.

According to a recent RBI report, debit card transactions have dropped by 47.06% to Rs 32,029,24 crore and credit card transactions have risen 28% in January 2011 to Rs 6,934,65 crore.