The bank is expecting to start issuing credit cards on the Visa payment network post the technology integration, which is expected to take 8 to 10 weeks


Private sector lender RBL Bank on Thursday said it entered into an agreement with global card player Visa yesterday to issue credit cards enabled on the Visa payment network.

The bank is expecting to start issuing credit cards on the Visa payment network post the technology integration, which is expected to take 8 to 10 weeks.

Hence, it has conveyed that in the interim, the banks' run rate of issuing 100,000 new credit cards per month would be impacted until there is some clarity from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), on issuing new credit cards on the Mastercard network or till the technical integration with Visa is complete.

RBL Bank had a tie-up with Mastercard for issuing credit cards. But, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) banned Mastercard from onboarding new customers on its network from July 22 over non-compliance with local data storage guidelines.

In an exchange notification, RBL Bank said, "We await further information from Mastercard on RBI's supervisory action".

While RBL Bank currently issues credit cards on the Mastercard network only, its debit and prepaid cards are already enabled on other payment networks in addition to the Mastercard network.

RBI's deision to bar Mastercard from onboarding new customers makes it the third card player to be barred on grounds of non-compliance with local data storage norms after the RBI had in April told American Express and Diners Club International not to get new domestic customers.

Mastercard in a statement late last night said, "We are fully committed to our legal and regulatory obligations in the markets we operate in. Since the issuance of the RBI directive requiring on-soil storage of domestic payment transaction data in 2018, we have provided consistent updates and reports regarding our activities and compliance with the required stipulations."

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