India’s Payment Revolution: Can UPI & RuPay Challenge Visa & Mastercard?

Set in 2024, this case illustrates the journey of indigenous payment networks in emerging markets and their ability to disrupt the global payment industry dominated by Visa and Mastercard. With cards usage having surged during the COVID-19 pandemic, and were expected to continue to grow, the duo’s stronghold in the market appeared to be unshakeable. However, the payments landscape was in the throes of a massive transformation, presenting considerable challenges to the legacy networks’ business model.

The primary disruption stemmed from innovation in payment technology leading to growing competition from digital solutions that were cheaper, offered real-time payments, and could bypass legacy players’ rails. The other disruption was from governments seeking a greater control over a country’s payment industry to drive financial inclusion, lower costs, and provide a fairer distribution of payments revenue. This had resulted in the emergence of national payment networks and government policies favouring domestic players.

In India, United Payment Interface (UPI) and RuPay payment networks were fast gaining prominence. In 2022-2023, UPI processed over 83.7 billion transactions worth US$1.7 trillion, surpassing the usage of both credit and debit cards in terms of volume and value in the country, while the number of RuPay card transactions at point of sale (POS) and e-commerce had doubled to 1.3 billion in five years. Moreover, they were expanding their global reach. As digital advancements and regulatory initiatives gathered steam in developing countries, Visa and Mastercard were under pressure to reduce their card fees and margins to remain competitive. This also had a ripple effect in their domestic markets. How should the legacy players proceed in their face off with national networks armed with nimble business models, cutting edge technology and government support that were redefining the payments industry?

This case study helps students understand the evolution of digital payment ecosystems and how disruptors transformed the industry through low-cost, efficient, and inclusive services. They will analyse the role of innovation, regulations and adoption in their success, and assess how Visa and Mastercard can respond to growing competition and a potential shift away from cards. Students will also examine the Indian government’s digital payment policies and their impact on market dynamics.

Inspection copies and teaching notes are available for university faculty. To receive an inspection copy and teaching note, please email cmpshop@smu.edu.sg with your registered faculty email ID and a link to your contact information on the faculty directory at your university as verification. An inspection copy and teaching note will then be sent to your faculty email account.

Download information

SMU Faculty/Staff can download the case & teaching note on iNet with your SMU login ID & Password via the following links:

·      The Case (SMU-25-0003)

·      Teaching Note (SMU-25-0003TN)

For purchase of the case and supplementary materials via The Case Centre, please access the following links:

·      The Case (SMU-25-0003)

·      Teaching Note (SMU-25-0003)

For purchase of the case and supplementary materials via Harvard Business Publishing, please access the following links:

·      The Case (SMU-25-0003)

·      Teaching Note (SMU-25-0003)