RIVERWOODS, Ill. & MUMBAI, India--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Mar. 7, 2012--
Discover Financial Services (DFS) and National Payments Corporation of
India (NPCI) today announced they have entered into a strategic alliance
resulting in acceptance of Discover cards and Diners Club International
(DCI) cards at NPCI ATMs and point-of-sale terminals for purchases in
India. It also will allow RuPay (the national card payment network in
India) cardholders to utilize the Discover, Diners Club International
and PULSE networks for international purchases and cash access outside
of India.
Under the terms of the strategic alliance, POS and ATM transactions by
RuPay network cardholders within India will be processed on the RuPay
network. Outside of India, RuPay Global Card transactions will be
processed on the Discover, Diners Club and PULSE ATM networks. The
long-term agreement will result in increased transaction volume on
NPCI’s ATM and on their soon-to-be implemented POS network in India, as
well as increased transaction volume on the Discover, Diners Club and
PULSE networks. The companies are also working to implement D-PAS,
Discover’s EMV technology, to offer chip-based cards to RuPay
cardmembers.
The arrangement will be implemented in a phased manner. To begin with,
DFS and DCI cards will be accepted at RuPay ATMs in India, followed by
acceptance at RuPay POS locations. The final phase will enable
acceptance of RuPay Global Cards on Discover’s global payment network
outside of India.
“This partnership with RuPay further demonstrates our commitment to
creating an ecosystem where local networks can thrive and offer more
value and utility to their cardmembers,” said Diane Offereins, EVP and
President of Discover Payment Services. “By opening up our global
payments network to RuPay cardmembers, we are participating in one of
the fastest growing countries for payment cards in the world. Discover
and Diners Club cardmembers also will benefit from their ability to more
broadly use their cards to access cash or make purchases throughout
India.”
Discover’s network to network alliances include UnionPay in China, JCB
in Japan, BCcard in Korea and DinaCard in Serbia. These alliances
provide valuable access to Discover's global acceptance footprint and
deliver value and volume to merchants and partners.
“The network-to-network alliance between DFS and NPCI eventually will
result in the issuance of RuPay Global cards once the domestic RuPay
cards being launched later this month stabilize,” said Mr A. P. Hota,
Chief Executive Officer & Managing Director of NPCI. “RuPay will be the
premier Indian payment card scheme, offering state-of-the-art technology
that is secure, robust, scalable, simple and cost effective.” Mr Hota
added that seven promoter banks have signed an MOU with NPCI to be part
of the pilot launch of domestic RuPay cards.
NPCI’s objective is to consolidate and integrate all retail payment
systems in India. Since its founding in 2009, NPCI has grown its share
of ATM transactions processed to 95% of the market in India. NPCI has
been promoted by banks (State Bank of India, Punjab National Bank,
Canara Bank, Bank of Baroda, Union Bank of India, Bank of India, ICICI
Bank, HDFC Bank, Citibank and HSBC) with the support and guidance of
Indian Banks Association, the banking industry body in India.
About Discover
Discover Financial Services (NYSE: DFS) is a direct banking and payment
services company with one of the most recognized brands in U.S.
financial services. Since its inception in 1986, the company has become
one of the largest card issuers in the United States. The company
operates the Discover
card, America's cash rewards pioneer, and offers personal and
student loans, online savings accounts, certificates of deposit and
money market accounts through its Discover
Bank subsidiary. Its payment businesses consist of Discover
Network, with millions of merchant and cash access locations; PULSE,
one of the nation's leading ATM/debit networks; and Diners Club
International, a global payments network with acceptance in more than
185 countries and territories. For more information, visit www.discoverfinancial.com.
About NPCI
National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) is the umbrella
organization of all retail payment systems in India and is set up by the
banks in India with the support and guidance from Indian Banks’
Association. The organization has been mandated to build central
infrastructure for payment systems like ATM Switching, Mobile Payments,
Cheque Truncation System, POS Switching, 24 * 7 remittance system and
Financial Inclusion transactions. The organisation has also a mandate to
build a domestic card payment scheme.
Source: Discover Financial Services
Media Contacts
Laura Gingiss
Discover
224-405-0185
lauragingiss@discover.com
or
Tanmay
Panda
NPCI
tanmaypanda@npci.org.in
or
Katie
Henry
Discover
224-405-4437
kathrynhenry@discover.com