Japan's JCB payment cards to now be accepted at ATMs

In a bid to provide relief to tourists and business professionals, Japan's JCB payment cards will now be accepted at ATMs and point of sale (POS) machines in India, an announcement said on Thursday.

The National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) and the JCB International (JCBI), the international operations subsidiary of global payment brand JCB, have partnered to operationalise acceptance of JCB payment cards at ATMs and POS terminals in the country.

"NPCI-JCB collaboration is one of the most valued alliances for our homegrown card network, RuPay. We are pleased to provide access to about 225,000 ATMs and over 2 million POS terminals in India through our national financial switch and RuPay network," A.P. Hota, Managing Director and CEO, NPCI, said.

Through this strategic partnership, JCB cards' acceptance coverage in India would reach about 100 per cent for both ATMs and POS terminals in the coming few years, NPCI said in a statement here.

The total card member base of the JCB is about 101 million that spans across 23 countries and territories.

Ichiro Hamakawa, President and CEO, JCB and Chairman and CEO, JCB International said: "India, with its very large population and rapidly growing economy, has become a key market for our global expansion strategy. This is one of the most meaningful moments for the history of JCB's global business in that 100 per cent POS and ATMs in India will be accepting JCB cards."

Currently, JCB cards are accepted by 32 banks on ATMs and by two banks on POS.

The scope of this strategic partnership also covers issuance of co-branded RuPay-JCB International cards by the NPCI member banks in India. This works as a RuPay card in India and as a JCB card outside the country.

--IANS

mm/nir/bg