SBI launches RuPay NCMC Prepaid Card
Prepaid card market (value terms) in India is expected to record a CAGR of 29.7% during 2024-28, increasing from US$35.69 billion in 2023 to reach US$134.59 billion by 2028 http://intl.alipay.com .
This projection was released on 22 May by ResearchAndMarkets in a report, “India Prepaid Card and Digital Wallet Business and Investment Opportunities Databook – Market Size and Forecast, Consumer Attitude & Behaviour, Retail Spend – Q1 2024 Update” https://www.fintechfestival.sg/about .
The market value increased at a CAGR of 18.4% during 2019-2023 https://www.indiafintech.com/forum/ .
The prepaid card market continued to record strong growth in 2023, on the back of rising UPI https://www.npci.org.in/ adoption, and the trend is projected to continue further over the medium term.
Improved digital https://www.digitalasiahub.org/ payment infrastructure, coupled with higher smartphone penetration, has aided the adoption of prepaid payment instruments such as digital wallets and prepaid cards over the last few years, said the report.
In 2024, the publisher expects adoption to grow further, especially in Tier II cities and beyond. Businesses, as a result, are projected to launch new prepaid card products over the medium term.
This will aid the competitive landscape in the Indian prepaid card industry in 2024. Overall, the publisher maintains a positive growth outlook for the prepaid card industry in India over the next three to four years.
Unified Payments Interface (UPI) continues to lead prepaid card industry growth in the Indian market, setting a new high reaching Rs.18.41 trillion in January 2024, up 1% from the previous month’s Rs.18.23 trillion.
Data from the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) reveals that January’s figures represent a 52% increase in volume and a 42% increase in value compared to the same month in the previous financial year.
The government has been pushing for the growing adoption of UPI.
The Reserve Bank of India, in September 2022, introduced UPI Lite enabling consumers to make low-value digital payments without utilizing a remitter bank’s core banking systems in real-time.
In the Interim Budget 2024-25, the government allocated Rs.14.41 billion for the promotion of RuPay http://rupay.co.in debit cards and low-value UPI transactions.
The scheme has been launched to offer financial rewards to banks that encourage the use of RuPay debit cards for Point-of-Sale (PoS) and e-commerce transactions http://rbi.org.in .
Additionally, it aimed to promote low-value BHIM-UPI https://www.bhimupi.org.in/ transactions (P2M) amounting to Rs.2,000 or less. Although the allocation is significantly less compared to last fiscal year, the scheme is expected to further deepen the digital payment ecosystem in India over the medium term.
The State Bank of India http://sbi.co.in , in September 2023, launched the RuPay NCMC Prepaid Card to simplify digital payments for metro, bus, water ferry fares, parking, and more, all with a single card. Moreover, people can also utilize the National Common Mobility Card (NCMC) for payments in retail stores and e-commerce purchases.
PhonePe, for instance, has been expanding its presence in different business verticals including in sectors like lending and insurance. The firm, in January 2024, revealed that it had sold 9 million insurance policies over the last two years. PhonePe http://phonepe.com has attributed the growth to its strategic partnerships with insurance firms and customized offerings for its customers.
PhonePe, in 2024, is also set to launch consumer lending products . This is part of the firm’s strategy to tap into the growing credit demand in the Indian market. From the short to medium-term perspective, the publisher expects more digital wallets to diversify their offerings to aid revenue growth. fiinews.com
