Reserve Bank of India (RBI) collects information on the number of debit and credit cards outstanding by the Scheduled Commercial Banks (SCBs). The credit and debit cards outstanding for the last three years is placed below:

(in millions)

	2013-14 (As at the end of March 31, 2014)	2014-15 (As at the end of March 31, 2015)	2015-16 (As at the end of March 31, 2016)	2016-17 (As at the end of Dec 31, 2016)
Credit Cards Outstanding (Public Sector Banks)	3.85	4.31	5.05	5.55
Total Credit Card Outstanding	19.18	21.11	24.51	28.09
Debit Cards Outstanding (Public Sector Banks)	315.97	459.63	548.50	627.81
Total Debit Card Outstanding	394.42	553.45	661.54	751.73
Total Cards Outstanding	413.60	574.56	686.04	779.83

 The bank-wise information of Scheduled Commercial Banks on the number of credit and debit card outstanding for the last three years is available on RBI website at https://rbi.org.in/Scripts/ATMView.aspx.

 RBI collects bank wise information on transactions done through credit and debit cards at ATM and POS on a monthly basis. However, bifurcation of data on the basis of card network operators is not available with RBI.

National Payment Corporation of India (NPCI) has submitted a proposal for approval for launch of Rupay Credit Cards to Department of Payment & Settlement Systems (DPSS), RBI. The same is under process.

The authorised card networks such as RuPay, Visa, MasterCard, Amex and Diners levy types of charges on the member banks for the services that are provided by them. One such charge is the network fees / switching fees that is paid by the acquiring and issuing banks to the respective card network for each transaction. These charges are decided by the network and its members. The Reserve Bank has not issued any regulations in this regard.

 RBI has authorised five card networks in the country for issuance of debit and/or credit cards through the franchisee banks. The Reserve Bank does not prescribe to banks the network with which they have to affiliate to issue the cards.

The Government had prescribed the issuance of RuPay cards to each of the account holders who have opened the accounts under the Prime Minister Jan DhanYojana.

This was stated by Shri Santosh Kumar Gangwar, Minister of State in the Ministry of Finance in written reply to a question in Lok Sabha today.

Card network regulation: networks set transaction and switching fees while oversight of fee-setting remains unregulated by the central bank. RBI collects and publishes bank-wise card outstanding and monthly ATM/POS transaction information but lacks network-level bifurcation. Card networks set network or switching fees payable by issuing and acquiring banks, a practice not regulated by the Reserve Bank. RBI has authorised five networks for card issuance and does not require banks to affiliate with any particular network. NPCI's proposal for a RuPay credit card is under consideration, and the Government has directed RuPay issuance for Prime Minister Jan Dhan Yojana account holders.