Visa complains to US govt about India backing for local rival RuPay

Visa Inc has complained to the US government that India’s “informal and formal” promotion of domestic payments rival RuPay hurts the US giant in a key market, memos seen by Reuters show.

In public, Visa has downplayed concerns about the rise of RuPay, which has been supported by public lobbying from Prime Minister Narendra Modi that has included likening the use of local cards to national service.

But US government memos show Visa raised concerns about a “level playing field” in India during an August 9 meeting between US Trade Representative (USTR) Katherine Tai and company executives, including CEO Alfred Kelly.