Key Highlights
- UPI drives daily transactions, while cards offer rewards and financial flexibility.
- In an interview with Mint, Salila Pande, MD & CEO of SBI Card, discusses how credit cards are evolving in the UPI era, trends across digital and PoS spending, the role of EMIs in managing affordability, responsible credit usage, lifestyle-driven engagement, and how AI-led underwriting and hyper-personalised rewards are shaping the future of the industry.
- With the modern Indian customer favouring convenient, seamless, secure and rewarding payment experiences, the credit card market is set for robust long-term growth.
- Developments such as tokenisation, biometric authentication and UPI–RuPay integrations are making payments increasingly seamless across devices and QR platforms, reducing friction while enhancing security.
- Owing to these factors, UPI and credit cards have become complementary; UPI drives acceptance and frequency, while credit cards provide liquidity, rewards, and financing flexibility.
