{"id":10646,"date":"2019-08-19T17:40:50","date_gmt":"2019-08-19T12:10:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.instamojo.com\/blog\/?p=10646"},"modified":"2021-06-10T15:41:37","modified_gmt":"2021-06-10T10:11:37","slug":"rupay-card-launch-in-bhutan-will-benefit-digital-payments-in-india","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.instamojo.com\/blog\/rupay-card-launch-in-bhutan-will-benefit-digital-payments-in-india\/","title":{"rendered":"RuPay Card Launch in Bhutan Will Benefit Digital Payments in India"},"content":{"rendered":"

The RuPay card – India\u2019s very own Visa and MasterCard has made its way into Bhutan.\u00a0<\/span>The RuPay Card launch in Bhutan was inaugurated by India\u2019s PM, Narendra Modi and Bhutanese PM, Lotay Tsherin. Modi launched the RuPay Card in Bhutan by making the first transaction at the Simtokha Dzong, one of the oldest dzongs in Bhutan.<\/p>\n

The RuPay card has gone international before. Currently, it is functional in Maldives and Singapore<\/strong>. The Prime Minister said in a statement that he hopes introducing the RuPay card in Bhutan will help strengthen economic and cultural ties between both nations.<\/p>\n

During his two-day visit, Modi signed 10 MoUs with Bhutan. With the RuPay card launch in Bhutan, Modi hopes to boost digital payments across borders too.<\/p>\n

Before we understand how this can help boost digital payments, let’s understand a few basics.<\/p>\n

What is RuPay Card?<\/h2>\n

RuPay – a combination of Rupee and Payment\u00a0is an Indian version of credit\/debit card. It is very similar to international cards such as Visa\/Master.<\/p>\n

NPCI launched the RuPay card<\/a> scheme in May 2012. The motive behind launching RuPay in India? RBI wanted to have a domestic, open and multilateral system of payments. Over a span of 7 years, RuPay card transactions grew faster than overall debit card use, indicating wider and faster adoption of the domestic card payment system.<\/p>\n

RuPay is run by the National Payments Corporation of India and competes with other global card payments systems such as Visa and Mastercard.<\/p>\n

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RuPay Card crossed 1 billion transactions – both online and offline merchant payment modes in the financial year 2019. This is a nearly 70% jump compared to the 667 million transactions last financial year!<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

RuPay debit cards are accepted in over 10,000 e-commerce sites and more than 8 lakh POS terminals. Since all the processing is done within the country this ensures faster transactions as compared to other\u00a0debit cards<\/span>\u00a0in the market.<\/strong><\/p>\n

The RuPay Card Launch in Bhutan<\/h2>\n

The RuPay Card Launch in Bhutan will be done in two phases<\/strong>:<\/p>\n

First<\/strong>: India’s banks will issue RuPay cards that can be used by Indian travellers in Bhutan<\/p>\n

Second<\/strong>: Banks of Bhutan will be empowered to issue RuPay cards to Bhutanese citizens to use in India<\/p>\n

India will provide an estimated\u00a0\u20b92.7 crore to integrate the RuPay Card in Bhutan. Why? Because it can\u00a0benefit Digital Payments in India<\/strong>:<\/p>\n

1. Boost Tourism and Digital Payments:<\/strong> As per the RBI and the Royal Monetary Authority of Bhutan (RMA), the RuPay card launch in Bhutan is set to simplify cross border transactions.\u00a0Besides boosting tourism, this increased digital payments<\/a><\/span> across countries, travel businesses and hotels.<\/p>\n

2. Minimise Foreign Currency Outflow<\/strong>: Post-integration, RuPay cardholders can use their cards across all ATMs and POS terminals in Bhutan. The RMA maintains an account with SBI (State Bank of India). When a RuPay cardholder in Bhutan makes a payment, it will be settled into the RMA account.<\/p>\n

3. Strengthen the Rupee:<\/strong> Visa and MasterCard payments are settled in US dollars, while RuPay transactions are settled in\u00a0Indian rupees. The\u00a0Bhutanese currency (Ngultrum)<\/span>\u00a0is fixed at a one-to-one exchange rate with the\u00a0Indian rupee<\/span>\u00a0making settlement easy for both countries. In addition, Bhutanese banks will issue RuPay cards that will allow Bhutanese cardholders to access the RuPay network in\u00a0India<\/span><\/strong>.<\/p>\n

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The @RuPay_npci<\/a> comes to Bhutan! The Card was launched by PM @narendramodi<\/a> and @PMBhutan<\/a>. This will improve economic linkages and boost digital transactions. pic.twitter.com\/CqZbH8qK43<\/a><\/p>\n

— PMO India (@PMOIndia) August 17, 2019<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n