No material impact on card issuers: Nomura on RBI restrictions

The restrictions imposed by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on global payment networks has affected plastic issuers. The last to attract the regulator’s gaze was Mastercard — banks cannot on-board new customers on this platform, effective July 22, 2021. The RBI had earlier restricted American Express and Diners Club.

This leaves only Visa and home-grown RuPay as payment providers that are under no restrictions. Nomura Global Markets Research says it does not foresee any material impact on card issuers in the near term (especially credit card issuers), but there could be a medium-term impact if this situation persists.