Mastercard pivots beyond cards, chases tier-3/4 India via credit-on-UPI and SME rails
Post-2021 RBI embargo, Mastercard India says volumes are compounding 20-25% annually. Country head is steering the franchise into credit-on-UPI, soundbox acceptance and commercial payments — the latter up 5x in three years — to tap 700M UPI accounts and 350M active users beyond the 55M credit card base.
What happened
Mastercard India plans to expand beyond traditional cards into credit-on-UPI, tier-3/4 markets, soundbox acceptance, SME and commercial payments. Country head
Key facts
- 20-25% annual volume growth
- 55 million credit card users
- 700 million UPI-enabled accounts
- 350 million active UPI users
- 5x growth in commercial payments
Why this matters
The shift opens partnership whitespace with soundbox acquirers, SME lenders and UPI credit-line issuers as Mastercard hunts distribution beyond its 55M card base into 350M UPI users.