In a recent development, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) allowed UPI payments via credit cards last year, although its usage remained limited. However, Google has now officially started supporting RuPay credit cards in India, expanding its compatibility beyond Paytm and PhonePe. This move by Google is aimed at catering to the increasing popularity of Google Pay, which recorded 8.8 million transactions in April 2023.
Google Pay, in partnership with the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI), has announced that users with RuPay credit cards will be able to make UPI payments through the Google Pay platform. To utilize this feature, users simply need to link their RuPay credit card to Google Pay, enabling them to make online and offline payments seamlessly.
Currently, this functionality is available for RuPay cardholders of several banks, including HDFC Bank, Axis Bank, Punjab National Bank, Bank of Baroda, Canara Bank, Indian Bank, Kotak Mahindra Bank, and Union Bank of India. It is expected that more banks will join this initiative in the near future.
Nalin Bansal, Chief Relationship Management and Key Initiatives of Corporate Business at NPCI, expressed enthusiasm about the collaboration, stating, “We believe this service will mature to provide access to digital credit on demand, and consumers will be able to make payments by leveraging the inherent security and availability of the UPI network across both offline and online platforms. We are delighted to partner with Google Pay as we believe that this combination will play a vital role in democratizing credit in India.”
To use your RuPay credit card for UPI transactions on Google Pay, you can simply add the eligible RuPay credit card as a payment method. This can be done by selecting the “RuPay credit card on UPI” option in your profile, choosing the banking partner, and entering the required card details (such as the last six digits, card validity, etc.) to complete the setup process. Once set up, you will be able to make payments through Google Pay UPI using your RuPay credit card.
If you are a RuPay credit cardholder who frequently uses Google Pay for payments, this integration can offer significant convenience. It is anticipated that more credit cards will gain this functionality in the future, enhancing user convenience even further. Share your thoughts on this development in the comments section below.