LIC launches pilot project with RuPay prepaid card

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Soon you might be able to use the RuPay card issued by the Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC). India’s largest insurer has launched a pilot project to offer RuPay prepaid cards to encourage digital, cashless transactions. Initially, these prepaid cards will be available to LIC and its subsidiaries for internal use. These would be used to reward employees during official functions.

Once the pilot project is complete, the card would be available to common people, LIC officials said. LIC Cards Services Limited (LIC CSL) has launched this contactless prepaid Gift Card ‘Shagun’ in collaboration with IDBI Bank on the RuPay platform.

Limit Rs 10,000

The card offers flexible loading of any amount ranging from Rs 500 to Rs 10,000. With this card, one can perform multiple transactions within a period of 3 years, LIC said in a statement.

With the wide acceptability of RuPay, the Shagun Gift card can be used at millions of merchant outlets and e-commerce websites in India to diversify spending options on the card.

The card will provide users the freedom to make purchases at various merchant locations including departmental stores, petrol pumps, restaurants, jewellery stores, and apparel stores.

The cardholders just need to tap their contactless RuPay Card at the contactless Point of Sale (PoS) terminal and make contactless payments without having to enter the PIN for purchases up to Rs 5,000, told the spokesperson.

“We are delighted to partner with IDBI Bank and RuPay for the launch of LIC Gift Card powered by IDBI Bank on RuPay Platform. We believe that gifting is one of the biggest social interactions and social events in our society.” said the spokesperson of LIC cards.

Future plan

This is the first step of LIC to enter into the banking business, said LIC officials.

Once this project becomes successful, LIC might enter the card business. “We aim to enhance the value of digital transactions by providing a variety of benefits/cards thereby saving time and cost of transactions for both the buyer and recipient. LIC CSL has the vision to be the top Brand in Cards and Digital Payments segments, catering to all segments with geographical spread across the country,” said the spokesperson of LIC CSL.

The card gets auto-linked to a feature-rich mobile app ‘m-passbook’ giving real-time access to transaction history, card balance, etc. Also, a dedicated in-house customer support team will be available 24×7 for any customer grievance.

Experts take

“In continuum with our ongoing business synergies with LIC, we are glad to also have NPCI and LIC Cards Services Ltd as partners on-boarded for this initiative. This product has been designed keeping in mind the distinct privileges for the cardholders as well as the convenience of the contactless payment feature,” said Rakesh Sharma, MD & CEO, IDBI bank.

“We are thrilled to partner with LIC CSL and IDBI Bank for the launch of Shagun Card on RuPay network. At NPCI, it is our constant endeavour to bring exciting innovations to corroborate the adoption of digital transactions. We look forward to continued collaboration with LIC CSL and IDBI Bank to take this product to the masses in coming months and further strengthens our customer base.” said Dilip Asbe, MD & CEO, National Payments Corporation of India.

Digital transactions

According to the latest data released by the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI), UPI transactions dipped markedly in April. Compared to March, the number of transactions dipped in April – from 273.16 crores to 264.10 crores. In other words, the drop was by 3.31%.

In value terms, the drop between March and April was by 2.22%.

NCPI data show the total number of transactions done through UPI in May was 253.96 crore. The total volume of these transactions was Rs 4.91 lakh crore.

On the other hand, the number of transactions in April stood at 264.10 crores involving a cumulative volume of Rs 4.93 lakh crore.

The drop from April to May in the number of transactions was 3.83%. The drop in volume in May compared to April was 0.61%.