NPCI to launch Rupay Debit Card in Oman

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Oman has become the latest country in the world where National Payment Corporation of India (NPCI) will launch its RuPay Debit card. 

A memorandum of understanding (MoU) was signed on 4 October 2022 between the Central Bank of Oman and National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) for cooperation in digital payment systems.

The agreement was signed during the visit of the Minister of State for External Affairs V Muraleedharan to Oman. He was on a two day (3-4 October) visit to Oman.

This was his second visit to Oman and he met Oman’s foreign minister Sayyid Badr bin Hamad bin Hamood Albusaidi .

Rupay Card

RuPay is an Indian payment gateway like Visa or MasterCard and is increasingly being expanded to India's neighbouring countries or nations with a huge Indian diaspora.

Rupay card was officially launched for public in India on 8 May 2014

Singapore was the first foreign country where it was launched in May 2018, followed by Bhutan and the Maldives.

In West Asia, UAE was the first country where RuPay was launched during PM Modi's August 2019 visit.  

Agreement has also been signed with Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, France and Nepal for its launch in the respective countries.

National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI)

• NPCI, an umbrella organization for operating retail payment and settlement systems in India, has been initiated by the 'RBI' and the 'Indian Banks' Association' (IBA) under the 'Payment and Settlement Systems Act, 2007'.
• It is a 'not-for-profit' company established under the provisions of Section 25 of the Companies Act 1956 (as amended in 2013), with the objective of providing physical and electronic payment infrastructure to the entire banking system in India.