NPCI International Payments Limited (NIPL), a subsidiary of the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI), has inked a strategic partnership agreement with Al Etihad Payments (AEP), a subsidiary of the Central Bank of UAE (CBUAE), for implementing the Domestic Card Scheme (DCS) in the UAE. This collaboration aims to create and operationalize the UAE’s national domestic card scheme, fostering the growth of e-commerce and digital transactions, promoting financial inclusion, supporting digitization efforts, expanding payment options, reducing transaction costs, and enhancing the UAE’s global payment ecosystem.
NIPL’s mission aligns perfectly with this partnership, as it strives to leverage its expertise to help other nations establish secure and cost-efficient payment systems.
The DCS solution, based on principles like sovereignty, innovation, and strategic independence, includes a RuPay stack and value-added services such as fraud monitoring and analytics. NIPL will also assist AEP in formulating operational regulations for their domestic card scheme.
RuPay, India’s indigenous and highly secure card payment network, boasts more than 750 million cards in circulation, making up over 60% of the total cards issued in India. India’s robust Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI), comprising digital identity, payments, and data exchange layers, has played a pivotal role in the fintech revolution, with a vast majority of adults having access to banking services, remote authentication (through Aadhar), and affordable internet connectivity.
India’s fintech ecosystem has witnessed tremendous growth, with a 367% increase in digital transaction participants over the last five years and an active customer base exceeding 340 million. This partnership signifies a significant step toward advancing digital payments in the UAE.