Port-Louis, February 14, 2024 – One more innovation in the world of digital banking is set to be attributed to SBM Bank (Mauritius) Ltd as it became the very first local bank to accept payments by RuPay cards on its electronic payment terminals, commonly called POS (or ‘Point of Sales’ terminals).
The announcement was made on Monday, February 12, during an event attended by the Prime Minister of Mauritius Mr. Pravind Kumar Jugnauth as well as the Prime Minister of India, Mr. Narendra Modi, in addition to the President of Sri Lanka, Mr. Ranil Wickremesinghe, who participated by video conference. For its part, SBM Bank (Mauritius) Ltd was represented by its Chief Executive, Mr. Premchand Mungar.
By becoming an acquirer of RuPay cards, SBM Bank (Mauritius) Ltd is expanding the range of cards it can accept on its payment terminals. “This new initiative positions us as the first bank in Mauritius to be able to accept RuPay cards on our payment terminals. We have one of the largest fleets of payment terminals across the country, including in major shopping centers and hotels. This will enable RuPay cardholders to settle their payments with complete peace of mind when traveling in Mauritius,” explains the Chief Executive of SBM Bank (Mauritius) Ltd, Mr. Premchand Mungar.
Launched in 2014 by the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI), RuPay is a payment system that has seen rapid adoption in the Greater Peninsula. To date, there are almost a billion RuPay cards – which use the Unified Payments Interface network, also managed by the NCPI – in circulation.
With the latest development, SBM Bank (Mauritius) Ltd is now able to accept cards from major issuers – Visa, Mastercard, UnionPay and RuPay, among others. The bank intends to continue on this path in order to eventually be able to accept cards from all major global payment systems.
