In 2021, the central bank had placed Mastercard under an 11-month ban. Have you regained lost market share and what has changed since then?
We have gained share since the embargo was lifted. When the ban happened, India was largely a two-network market with Mastercard and Visa, with a small presence of Amex. Today, RuPay has emerged as a significant player, especially with credit on UPI.
Because the market structure has changed, it is not mathematically possible for any player to return to the position they held before RuPay entered. Excluding the roughly 18 months impacted by the embargo and subsequent share loss, our business rose 20-25% year-on-year by volume.
Everyone is targeting the same market. RuPay has government backing and Visa has been aggressive with banks. How will Mastercard differentiate itself?
In a market where RuPay has grown from virtually zero to around 20% share, we have still gained share since the embargo was lifted. That indicates we are competing effectively. We continue to win partnerships, including consumer-focused partnerships and co-branded card launches. So I would say the battle of who is the better network to partner with, will always exist. Much like RuPay and Visa, we will all fight for business from all the banks. We will win some. We will lose some.
Are you focusing on newer customer segments?Historically, global networks focused heavily on affluent consumers in Tier-1 and Tier-2 cities. We are broadening that focus to Tier-3 and Tier-4 markets, low-cost acceptance infrastructure, soundbox solutions and products aimed at SMEs, women and farmers. Our objective is to move beyond serving the 55 million credit card users and participate in the broader payments ecosystem.
We are working with three banks on new solutions that will provide access to cash-flow and financing needs for consumers who traditionally may not have qualified for conventional credit products. We are actively developing products for underserved segments.
What are your views on allowing credit on UPI for global card players?
We would like to participate in the ecosystem in a measured manner. However, participation involves policy decisions and regulatory considerations.
Debit card growth has slowed, and even credit card growth has plateaued. How do you view the future of cards?
The recent decline in card numbers was largely due to a deliberate clean-up of inactive cards across the industry, supported by regulators and issuers. Around 40% of cards in the system were inactive. Similar clean-ups occur periodically in many markets. We are already seeing credit card issuance rebound strongly.
Will the future be card networks, real-time payments or stable coins? I don’t think anyone knows. We will make sure that we are at front and centre of every payment technology that emerges. We are going to support all payment form factors, if they are relevant. The day we see that one of them is irrelevant, we will probably make an exit.
What is Mastercard’s strategy on growth?
Growth will come from expanding digital payments beyond the current user base. India has about one billion bank accounts. Around 700 million are UPI-enabled, but only about half of those are actively used. Another 300 million accounts are not even UPI-enabled.
That means roughly 650 million bank accounts remain outside the active digital economy. Among the 350 million active UPI users, only around 55 million are unique credit card holders. Compared with China, where about 350 million consumers actively use credit cards, India’s credit penetration remains very low.
You have also been targeting commercial payments?
India has digitised many payments through RTGS, NEFT and other systems, but significant friction remains in business and supply-chain payments. Many companies still do not use corporate travel and expense cards, purchasing cards or virtual card solutions.
Three years ago, Mastercard had a very small presence in card-based commercial payments in India. Since then, that business has grown five-fold. We are focusing on SMEs, large corporates, government payments and tax payments.