A recent report by Nomura, a Japanese research and brokerage house, stated that the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) ban on Mastercard from onboarding any new customers in India will drastically impact a few banks such as RBL Bank, Bajaj Finserv, Yes Bank, and others. In fact, the entire card schemes of these banks are allied with Mastercard. Around 60% of HDFC Bank’s card schemes are allied with Mastercard, Diners and Amex while it is 35-36% for ICICI Bank and Axis Bank.
On the other hand, the portfolio of Kotak Mahindra Bank is allied with Visa and thus, will not be impacted by this Mastercard ban. Hence, most banks have started replacing their Mastercard links with Visa. For instance, RBL Bank has signed up for Visa linkage post the ban on Mastercard. Moreover, the fastest growing credit cards in India namely ICICI Bank-Amazon card is allied with Visa and the Axis-Flipkart card is allied with Mastercard.
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) is India’s central bank and regulatory body under the jurisdiction of Ministry of Finance, Government of India. It is responsible for the issue and supply of the Indian rupee and the regulation of the Indian banking system besides managing the country’s main payment systems and working to promote its economic development.
Nomura is a global financial services group with an integrated network spanning over 30 countries. By connecting markets East & West, the company serves the needs of individuals, institutions, corporates and governments through its three business divisions: Retail, Wholesale (Global Markets and Investment Banking) and Investment Management. Driven by the insights of some 26,000 people worldwide, the company puts its clients at the center of everything it does, thereby delivering unparalleled access to, from and within Asia.
