Your RBI Right to Choose Your Credit Card Network

Rohan from Pune applied for a credit card with a large private bank. He wanted a RuPay card so he could link it to UPI and tap-and-pay from his phone. The bank handed him a Visa card and said RuPay was not available on that product. Rohan was not wrong to ask. Since 6 September 2024, the Reserve Bank of India requires most large card issuers to let you pick your card network at the time you get the card, and to offer you a switch when the card comes up for renewal.

This guide explains the right in plain terms, who it covers, and exactly how to exercise it.

How to exercise your network choice (step by step)

1. Decide which network you want and why. RuPay credit cards can be linked to UPI through apps like BHIM, so you can scan and pay from a UPI app. Visa, Mastercard and Diners Club have wider acceptance abroad. Pick the network that matches how you spend.
2. Ask before the card is issued. At the application stage, tell the bank you want to choose your card network. Eligible issuers must offer you the choice of multiple networks at the time of issue.
3. If the bank refuses, cite the RBI circular. Quote RBI/2023-24/131 dated 6 March 2024, effective 6 September 2024, which bars issuers from forcing a single network and requires eligible issuers to give customers a network choice.
4. Already have a card? Wait for renewal. For an existing card, the right to switch the network kicks in at the next renewal. Write to the bank a month or two before the card expires and ask for the network you want on the renewed card.
5. Put the request in writing. Email the bank or raise a service request so there is a dated record. If they still refuse, escalate.
6. Escalate if ignored. Take it to the bank nodal officer, then the RBI Ombudsman through the portal at cms.rbi.org.in if the bank does not act within 30 days.

If your card issuer has more than 10 lakh active credit cards, it cannot tie you to one network. It must let you choose your network when the card is issued and offer you a choice again at renewal.

The rule comes from the RBI circular Arrangements with Card Networks for issue of Credit Cards, reference RBI/2023-24/131, CO.DPSS.POLC.No.S1133/02-14-003/2023-24, dated 6 March 2024. It took effect six months later, on 6 September 2024.

Two things changed:

• No exclusive tie-ups. Card issuers cannot enter into any arrangement with a card network that stops them from using other networks. The old practice of one bank product locking you into one network is no longer allowed for covered issuers.
• Customer choice. Eligible issuers must give customers the option to choose from multiple card networks at the time of issue. For cards already in your wallet, this option must be provided at the next renewal.

The authorised card networks in India named by the RBI are Visa Worldwide, Mastercard Asia/Pacific, National Payments Corporation of India (RuPay), Diners Club International, and American Express Banking Corp.

The rule does not cover every issuer.

So a very large bank must give you the choice. A small co-operative bank with a tiny card base may not. And an issuer that runs cards on its own authorised network is outside the rule.

If you are unsure whether your bank crosses the 10 lakh threshold, simply ask the question in writing. The largest banks and card issuers in India are all well above it.

The most common reason people now ask for a specific network is UPI. RuPay credit cards can be linked to a UPI app, letting you pay by scanning a QR code or using a UPI ID, with the spend billed to your credit card. Visa, Mastercard and Diners credit cards cannot be linked to UPI in the same way today.

So if linking your credit card to UPI matters to you, RuPay is the network to ask for. Under the RBI rule, a covered issuer should not be able to refuse you a RuPay option on a product simply to push you toward another network, unless the product genuinely runs on a single excluded arrangement.

The right is about choice at issuance and at renewal. It does not force a bank to offer every network on every single product, but it does stop a covered issuer from locking you into one network through an exclusive tie-up.

Keep it simple and documented.

• Call or email customer care and say: “Under RBI circular RBI/2023-24/131, I want to choose my card network. Please issue or renew my card on the RuPay network.”
• Ask for a service request number and a written reply.
• If you are renewing, raise the request well before the expiry date so the new card is printed on the network you want.
• No reply or a flat refusal within 30 days? Escalate to the bank nodal officer, then to the RBI Ombudsman at cms.rbi.org.in.

For a deeper playbook on writing to public authorities and following up, see The RTI Playbook.

If your issuer has more than 10 lakh active credit cards, yes - it must offer you a choice of card network at the time of issue. Make the request in writing and quote RBI circular RBI/2023-24/131 dated 6 March 2024, effective 6 September 2024. Smaller issuers and issuers on their own network are exempt.

At the next renewal. The RBI rule gives existing cardholders the network choice when the card is renewed, not in the middle of its validity. Write to your bank a month or two before the card expires and ask for the network you want on the renewed card.

Because RuPay credit cards can be linked to UPI. You can pay by scanning a QR code or using a UPI ID, and the amount is billed to your credit card. Visa, Mastercard and Diners credit cards cannot be linked to UPI the same way today, so RuPay is the network to ask for if UPI matters to you.

No. It applies to card issuers with more than 10 lakh active credit cards. Issuers with 10 lakh or fewer cards are exempt, and issuers that run cards on their own authorised card network are excluded. The largest banks in India are all above the threshold, so for most mainstream cards the right does apply.

Get the refusal in writing, then escalate to the bank nodal officer. If the bank does not resolve it within 30 days, lodge a complaint with the RBI Ombudsman through the portal at cms.rbi.org.in. Keep your written request, the circular reference, and the bank reply ready as evidence.

The RBI names five authorised card networks: Visa Worldwide, Mastercard Asia/Pacific, National Payments Corporation of India (RuPay), Diners Club International, and American Express Banking Corp. A covered issuer must let eligible customers choose from multiple of these networks rather than forcing a single one.

• RBI circular Arrangements with Card Networks for issue of Credit Cards, RBI/2023-24/131, dated 6 March 2024, effective 6 September 2024 - rbi.org.in
• RBI Complaint Management System (Ombudsman) - cms.rbi.org.in

Reviewed by Dr. Shrawan Kumar Pathak. This guide is general information, not financial or legal advice. Confirm current rules with your card issuer and the RBI website.