NPCI International Payments Ltd (NIPL), a wholly-owned subsidiary of the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI), has entered into a strategic partnership agreement with Al Etihad Payments (AEP) for the implementation of the Domestic Card Scheme (DCS) in UAE. AEP is an indirect subsidiary of the Central Bank of UAE (CBUAE). As per the agreement; NIPL and AEP will work together to build, implement, and operationalise UAE's national DCS.

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NIPL will also assist AEP in formulating the operating regulations for their domestic card scheme. Apart from facilitating the growth of e-commerce and digital transactions in the UAE, DCS aims to bolster financial inclusion, support the digitisation agenda, increase alternate payment options, reduce the cost of payments and enhance the Middle Eastern nation's competitiveness as a global payments leader.

The DCS solution provided by NIPL consists of a RuPay stack and value-added services like fraud monitoring services and analytics. A widely accepted card payment network in India; RuPay cards have debit, credit, and prepaid propositions. Over 750 million RuPay cards are in circulation as of date, and RuPay cards comprise over 60% of the total cards issued in India. These cards are issued through the entire banking spectrum, including public sector, private, and small banks.

(Edited by : Ajay Vaishnav)