India signs agreement with Saudi Arabia to launch RuPay card

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At the invitation of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi paid an official visit to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia on 29 October 2019. The two sides held bilateral talks during which they reviewed the historical and close relations that bind the two friendly countries and their peoples. They exchanged views on regional and international issues of mutual interest. They underlined the relations of friendship and partnership embodied in economic, social, cultural and civilizational ties between the people of the two countries, and the great common opportunities that provide a strong momentum for the development of relations between the two friendly countries.

During the visit India also signed the agreement with Saudi Arabia to launch the RuPay card in the country, making it the third nation in the West Asia to initiate India’s digital payment system which will benefit not only the 2.6 million Indians in the Gulf Kingdom but also Haj and Umrah pilgrims.
The RuPay card is a first-of-its-kind Indian domestic Debit and Credit Card payment network, with acceptance at ATMs, POS devices and e-commerce websites. It was launched in 2012 to fulfil the Reserve Bank of India’s vision to have a domestic, open and multilateral system of payments.