Debit cards face threat over UPI preference

Debit cards may struggle to retain their utilities intact at a time when the preference for the Unified Payments Interface (UPI) platform across India has been on the rise. The recent move of the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) to allow prepaid payment instruments to become a part of the interoperable UPI ecosystem will bolster UPI payments, say experts.

“Earlier, debit cards were the only channel for you to spend money online if you wanted to spend using your bank account. Now that there is UPI, those access channels are changing with additional data security available on these channels. I think debit cards usage will definitely be on the downslide,”