Axis Bank enables RuPay credit card support on UPI

Axis Bank, one of India‘s leading private sector banks, has made a significant announcement regarding its integration of RuPay Credit Card support on UPI (Unified Payments Interface).

This move allows the bank’s customers to conveniently utilize their RuPay Credit Card as a mode of payment when scanning UPI QR codes or making transactions at a merchant’s UPI checkout page. The integration aims to combine the benefits of credit card rewards with the seamless experience of UPI’s instant payment system. The bank has begun rolling out this functionality in phases.

To link their RuPay Credit Card to UPI, customers can follow a process similar to linking their bank accounts. They need to select the “AXIS BANK CREDIT CARD” option from the list of supported banks for credit card payments within their UPI apps. Once chosen, the system will fetch and display the linked RuPay Credit Card associated with the customer’s mobile number.

Subsequently, the customer must generate a separate UPI PIN, distinct from their existing Credit Card PIN. It’s important to note that this feature currently works only on UPI apps that support the RuPay Credit Card feature and for customers who hold a RuPay Credit Card with Axis Bank.

Axis Bank implements RuPay credit card support on UPI. Photo courtesy of Christopher J. Fynn/Wikimedia Commons.

This announcement aligns with the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) Payments Vision for 2025, which forecasts a 16% year-on-year growth in credit-based payment transactions for the next four years.

As India rapidly embraces digital payments for everyday transactions, the integration of credit cards and UPI is expected to encourage greater credit card usage for small value payments within the UPI ecosystem.

Consequently, this development is likely to drive more customers to opt for credit cards, seeking the added convenience of UPI, which was previously limited to their bank accounts.

With Axis Bank’s implementation of RuPay Credit Card support on UPI, customers now have a seamless and rewarding payment experience, merging the advantages of credit card transactions with the ease and speed of UPI payments.

Sanjeev Moghe — Axis Bank President and Head of Cards & Payments said: “With approximately 250 million customers using UPI for their peer-to- peer and merchant payments, the linkage of RuPay Credit Cards with UPI will lead to a rise in acceptability through the vast network of five crores UPI merchants, providing customers with more points of acceptance of their credit cards.

“Till now, such customers could only use their bank accounts for all Scan & Pay and other forms of UPI merchant payments. In the future, UPI can act as a standalone payment gateway where various forms of payment instruments like Bank Accounts, Credit Cards, PPI wallets can be linked.”