What is the difference between RuPay Card, VISA Card and MasterCard?

Have you ever noticed that RuPay Card, Visa Card or MasterCard is written on the credit or debit card, even if we have taken it from any bank. Why this happens, is there any difference between them, can RuPay card be used internationally, etc. Let us study through this article.

Nowadays in the digital era, we all want to make cashless or online payment and for this we either use credit card or debit card.

The National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) launched the RuPay Card on 20th March 2012. It was launched by the government in an effort to promote the cause of financial inclusion in the country. RuPay is India's own domestic network which has evolved on the lines of international payment networks like Visa, MasterCard, Discover, Diners Club and American Express.

What is an ATM card?

Earlier people used to go to the bank to withdraw money and used to stand in long lines and also people had to face many problems. Keeping all these things in mind, the bank implemented credit or debit cards to withdraw money from ATM machines and ATMs. To get this, one reads to apply in the bank. Now people are not going to the bank and withdrawing their money from ATM. That is, this card is a kind of Payment Gateway Card.

Let us tell you that after applying ATM i.e. debit or credit card in the bank, the bank provides you 3 types of ATM cards i.e. RuPay Card, Visa Card or MasterCard.

What is Plastic Money?

When we use any kind of ATM card for transaction in place of hard cash, then this card itself is known as plastic money and the transaction done from it is called cashless. It can be any ATM, Visa Card, MasterCard or RuPay Card.

What is RuPay Card?

Rupay Card is an Indian domestic card that was launched by NPCI in 2012. It was introduced to reduce the monopoly created by foreign entrants like Visa and MasterCard into the Indian payment system. That is, it is an Indian payment gateway. This card also works in the same way that Visa or MasterCard do. The expired MasterCard and Visa Card are foreign companies or American companies and their commission is high. But due to RuPay card being an Indian company, its commission is less.

What is Visa Card and Master Card?

Visa Card and MasterCard is a foreign payment gateway that provides the facility of payment gateway to the banks of most countries of the world through their cards. There is no significant difference between MasterCard and Visa Card. Both of these are the same ATM card and their function is also the same. Due to Visa/MasterCard being an international card, payment can be made easily everywhere.

However, neither Visa nor MasterCard do not actually issue credit cards to anyone. These are both payment methods. They rely on banks in different countries to issue credit cards using these payment methods. Therefore, interest rates, rewards, annual fees, and all other fees are issued by your bank and when you pay your bill you are paying it to the bank or institution that issued your card, Visa Or not MasterCard.

Difference between Rupay Card, Visa Card or MasterCard

1. RuPay Card is an Indian Domestic Debit Card whereas MasterCard/ Visa is an International System Debit Card.

2. The main difference between RuPay Card and MasterCard/ Visa Debit Card is its operating cost. Since RuPay Card is a domestic product, its operating cost is very low as compared to MasterCard/ Visa debit cards processed in foreign countries.

3. MasterCard or Visa is an American company and when we use its card, the data goes to that company's server for processing and verification, which slows down the processing. Whereas on using the RuPay card, the data remains in its own country for processing and verification, which makes its processing faster.

Note: As mentioned above, RuPay card is made for domestic use, hence it cannot be used for international level transactions like Visa card or MasterCard.

4. Banks have to pay quarterly fee for joining overseas payment networks like Visa Debit Card or MasterCard but not in RuPay card. Any bank can join the RuPay network without any charges.

5. There are some limitations of using RuPay card as it provides only debit card for online transactions whereas Visa or MasterCard provides both debit and credit cards.

6. RuPay cards are more secure as compared to international cards as its operations are limited to within India only. Data is shared only between national gateways. But using Visa Debit Card or MasterCard customer's data is processed internationally so the risk of data theft is high.

So now you must have come to know what is the difference between RuPay Card, MasterCard or Visa Card. Basically RuPay Card is an Indian Domestic Debit Card whereas Visa or MasterCard is International System Debit Card. Due to RuPay Card being domestic, it has low transaction cost but Visa or MasterCard transaction cost is high due to processing in foreign countries.