Visa Inc., one of the world's leading financial services providers, has filed a complaint with the United States Government over India's "informal and formal" promotion of a domestic payment company called RuPay.
India is one of Visa Inc's largest customer bases, with over 44% market share in India. But with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's push for Make-In-India and Buy-Indian ventures, the US-based company is finding a tough rival in Indian-born RuPay.
A demand for a "level playing field"
During the August meeting between the U.S. Trade Representative and the Indian Government, Visa Inc CEO Alfred Kelly raised concerns with Indian representatives about the rising competition from RuPay.
Prime Minister Modi had recently called upon his nation to start using Indian-born payment providers, labeling the act as a way to "serve the nation." In fact, despite Visa Inc maintaining an unconcerned façade, India has seen a rise in support for RuPay and other domestic financial service providers.
Visa Inc's rival Mastercard too raised concerns about the discriminatory promotional practices that champion domestic providers in India.
Concerns for future business growth
Prime Minister Modi's decision to push RuPay's services has received much support from many Indian politicians, including Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman. Additionally, the country's Central Bank, RBI, has also asked all foreign financial providers to store payment information in India to ensure the government has "unfettered supervisory access."
Mastercard has also recently received an indefinite ban on issuing new cards in India – a move that it is contesting. With the market getting progressively more competitive, both Visa Inc and Mastercard remain worried about their future in their largest market.
No comments:
Post a Comment