Since March 2024 you have had the right to choose your card network — and almost nobody exercises it. An RBI circular bars issuers from striking exclusivity deals and requires them to offer you a choice of network both when a card is issued and when it is renewed.
Whether that choice matters depends entirely on one feature, and on a law that changed two days ago. Here is the honest comparison.
Your Right to Choose
Under RBI’s circular of 6 March 2024, issuers must give eligible customers a choice among the authorised networks. India has five: American Express, Diners Club, Mastercard, RuPay and Visa.
Two exemptions apply: issuers with fewer than ten lakh active cards, and issuers operating their own proprietary network.
If your bank simply handed you a card without asking, you can raise it at renewal. Most people never do, which is why the right is largely theoretical in practice.
The One Real Difference: UPI
Strip away the marketing and this is the difference that changes daily behaviour.
Only RuPay credit cards can be linked to UPI. Visa and Mastercard credit cards cannot. If you want to pay a street vendor’s QR code with a credit card rather than your bank balance, RuPay is the only route.
The economics for you are straightforward: linking costs nothing, and transacting costs nothing. Small offline merchants are not charged MDR on transactions up to ₹2,000, which is why so many accepted it. Above that, MDR applies. Fuel and some other merchant categories carry their own surcharges.
The limits are real, though. Transactions are generally capped at ₹1 lakh a day, with ₹2 lakh for some merchant categories, and the effective cap is the lowest of your card limit, your own set limit and your bank’s risk limit.
A long list of uses is blocked entirely on RuPay credit card via UPI: person-to-person transfers, person-to-person-merchant payments, cash withdrawal at ATMs or through merchants, IPO applications, mutual fund purchases, lending platforms, e-RUPI, digital account opening and foreign inward remittances. It is for genuine merchant purchases, not for moving money.
The Law That Just Changed
This is the part no comparison written before this week accounts for.
The Taxation and Other Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2026 passed the Lok Sabha on 6 August 2026. It amends Section 10A of the Payment and Settlement Systems Act, 2007, replacing the blanket prohibition on merchant charges with a power for the government to notify which instruments keep zero MDR and which may attract charges.
In plain terms, the January 2020 rule that made RuPay debit and BHIM-UPI free for merchants is being unwound into something the government can adjust.
Two cautions, because this is being reported loosely. Nothing has been notified and no charge applies today. Reported discussion of a 25 to 30 basis point charge on merchant transactions above ₹2,000 is exactly that — discussion. Rates, exemptions and timelines do not exist yet, and the RBI Governor has called the question premature.
What it means for you as a consumer: probably very little directly, since MDR is a merchant cost. What it may mean is that the cost advantage which drove small-merchant adoption of RuPay and UPI is now, for the first time since 2020, genuinely in play.
Acceptance: Where They Actually Differ
In India, all three are near-universally accepted. This is not a meaningful differentiator any more.
Abroad is a different matter. A plain RuPay card is domestic only. Only RuPay Global cards — co-badged with Discover, Diners Club or JCB — work internationally, and their coverage is materially thinner than Visa or Mastercard.
If you travel, or buy from international websites, this is the decisive point. Check whether your RuPay card is a Global variant before assuming it will work at a hotel counter overseas.
The Misconception Worth Correcting
“RuPay is cheaper for the consumer” is repeated constantly and is not really true.
Forex markup, lounge access, reward rates, annual fees and insurance cover are all set by your issuing bank, not by the network. Two RuPay cards from different banks can differ far more from each other than a RuPay and a Visa card from the same bank.
RuPay’s genuine cost advantage sits with merchants, through lower MDR, and with consumers through the convenience of UPI linkage. The MDR advantage is precisely what the August 2026 Bill puts into question.
How to Actually Choose
Ignore the network branding and ask three questions.
Do you want to pay merchant QR codes with a credit card? If yes, RuPay, because nothing else can.
Do you travel or shop internationally? If yes, Visa or Mastercard, or specifically a RuPay Global variant rather than a plain one.
Everything else? Compare the card, not the network — the fees, the reward structure, the forex markup and the lounge terms. Those are the numbers that will actually affect what the card costs you.
Many people are best served holding one of each: a RuPay card linked to UPI for everyday domestic spending, and a Visa or Mastercard for travel and online purchases abroad.
For the UPI side of this, our guides to RuPay credit card on UPI and UPI charges and fees go into the mechanics. We cover Indian payments factually at Techleez. This describes rules and published positions rather than financial advice.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I choose my card network in India?
Yes. Since RBI’s March 2024 circular, issuers must offer a choice of network at issue and at renewal, with limited exemptions for small and proprietary-network issuers.
Which credit cards can be linked to UPI?
Only RuPay credit cards. Visa and Mastercard credit cards cannot be linked.
Does RuPay on UPI cost the customer anything?
No. Linking and transacting are free for the customer. MDR is a merchant-side charge, and small offline merchants are exempt up to ₹2,000.
Is MDR being introduced on UPI?
A Bill passed the Lok Sabha on 6 August 2026 enabling the government to notify which instruments may attract merchant charges. Nothing has been notified and no charge applies today.
Does RuPay work abroad?
Only RuPay Global cards, co-badged with Discover, Diners Club or JCB. Plain RuPay cards are domestic only, and Global coverage is thinner than Visa or Mastercard.
Is RuPay cheaper than Visa for me?
Not inherently. Fees, forex markup and rewards are set by your issuing bank, not the network. Compare the specific card.
Fold Smith
Fold Smith is a technology journalist and the lead editor of The Techleez, an India-first publication that decodes technology, digital payments, streaming and online culture for everyday readers. From UPI and fintech explainers to OTT streaming guides, Android tips and online-safety checklists, he personally tests the apps, tools and services featured on the site before recommending them. His focus is practical, research-backed guidance that helps Indian readers make smarter digital decisions — spend less, stream better and stay safe online. When he is not writing, he is usually tracking NPCI circulars, first-day-first-show box office numbers, or the next big OTT premiere.
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