Indian payment card 'Rupee' will now work in Nepal as well

 

Indian payment card 'Rupee' will now work in Nepal as well

On the occasion of Nepals prime minister sher Bhadur deuba visit. Nepal becomes the fourth foreign country to start the RuPay card.  Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Nepalese counterpart Sher Bahadur Deuba jointly launched the Indian electronic payment system in the  beautiful Himalayan nation.

There are three other countries that are using the RuPay card are Bhutan, Singapore and the United Arab Emirates.

The card was launched by the two leaders after holding talks covering wide-ranging issues including cooperation in areas of trade, investment and energy.

Prime Minister sher Bahadur Deuba  has arrived in New Delhi on Friday in his first bilateral visit abroad after becoming prime minister for the fifth time in July 2021.

"Introduction of RuPay card in Nepal will add a new chapter to our financial connectivity," Modi said in his media statement after the talks.

India’s The Ministry of External Affairs said the launching  of the card in Nepal would open new chapter for cooperation in financial connectivity, and is expected to facilitate both the country  tourist flows as well as further strengthen people-to-people linkages.

RuPay card scheme was launched in 2012 as part of the Reserve Bank of India's vision to have a domestic, open and multilateral system of payments.

People who are familiar with the project said that the  Nepal SBI Bank (NSBL), a subsidiary  bank of SBI and Nepal's largest international bank, worked on the initiative for over a year with support from Nepal's Central Bank.

They said the launch of the card in Nepal will forge a new path to financial convenience and empowerment with the use of technology and innovation.

It will not only enable ease of payment for RuPay car holders but also uplift Nepal's payment ecosystem capabilities, they said.

After the Modi-Deuba talks, Nepal and India also inked a pact for the renewal of an MoU for the supply of petroleum products for a period of five years between Indian Oil Corporation Ltd (IOCL) and Nepal Oil Corporation Ltd (NOC), the people cited above said.

Both parties had signed an agreement on March 27, 2017, which expired on March 31. 

The renewed agreement will remain valid for a period of five years.

The agreement is in the form of an umbrella pact enabling IOCL to supply petroleum products to NOC, including through the Motihari-Amlekhgunj pipeline which was commissioned in July 2019.

Another agreement was signed for sharing of technical expertise between IOCL and NOC.

The agreement is intended to assist NOC in acquiring technical knowledge and skill in petroleum products, and in the operation and maintenance of facilities required for the purpose.

Rus the first-of-its-kind global Card payment network of India, with

by encouraging every Indian bank and financial institution to become tech-savvy and engage in offering electronic payments.

 

A product of National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI)

RuPay is a product of NPCI, It is the umbrella organisation that powers retail payments in the india. The provision under the Payment and Settlement Systems Act, 2007, empowered the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and Indian Banks’ Association (IBA) to create a secure electronic payment and settlement system in India.

The nature of NPCI’s initiatives and objectives includes it under the “Not for Profit Company” under the provisions of Section 25 of the Companies Act 1956 and more recently under the Section 8 of the Companies Act 2013. This was an initiative to build the necessary banking infrastructure required to propel India towards a ‘less cash’ economy. NPCI recognises the need for tech-driven innovations in the retail payments system to drive operational efficiencies among a larger Indian audience.

Issuing Banks

Presently, RuPay cards are issued by more than 1,100 banks which includes Public Sector Banks, Private Sector Banks, Regional Rural and Co-Operative Banks.

It’s ten core promoter banks are State Bank of India, Punjab National Bank, Canara Bank, Bank of Baroda, Union Bank of India, Bank of India, ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank, Citibank N. A. and HSBC.

Currently 56 banks are share-holders of NPCI

There were a  general understanding that the boundary issue between India and Nepal needed to be solved or  addressed in a responsible manner through dialogue and its politicisation should not be done in the serious border issues Shringla said.

 

In his statement to the media, prime minister sher Deuba said the serious boundary issue was discussed and he urged with Indian prime minister  Modi to resolve it through the establishment of a bilateral mechanism.

 

Shringla said the issue was briefly discussed.

"The issue was briefly discussed. There was a machenism  general understanding that both sides needed to address this in a best possible  responsible manner through discussion and dialogue in the spirit of our close and friendly relations and politicisation of such issues needs to be avoided," he said.

 

shringla was replying to a question on the issue.

"I think there was a sense that we should address it through discussion and dialogue," he added.

 

Ties between India and Nepal came under severe strain after Nepal published a new political map in 2020 that showed the three  territories - Limpiyadhura, Kalapani and Lipulekh - as part of Nepal.

 

On its part, India reacted sharply, calling it a "unilateral act" and cautioning Kathmandu that such "artificial enlargement" of territorial claims will not be acceptable to it.

 

The row started after Defence Minister Rajnath Singh inaugurated an 80-km-long strategically crucial road connecting the Lipulekh pass with Dharchula in Uttarakhand in May 2020.

Nepal protested the inauguration of the road claiming that it passed through its territory and came out with the new map weeks later.

 

Shringla visited Nepal in November 2020 with an aim to reset the ties. Shringla's trip was followed by a visit to India by then Nepalese foreign minister Pradeep Kumar Gyawali.

 

RuPay is the first its kind domestic Card payment network of India, with wide acceptance at ATMs, POS devices and e-commerce websites across India. It is a highly secure network that protects against anti-phishing. The name, derived from the words ‘Rupee and ‘Payment’, emphasizes that it is India’s very own initiative for Card payments. It is our answer to international payment networks, expressing pride over our nationality.

RuPay fulfils RBI’s vision of initiating a ‘less cash’ economy. This could be achieved only by encouraging every Indian bank and financial institution to become tech-savvy and engage in offering electronic payments.