We have the Rupay Debit card which we find cannot be used with our own government agencies and websites.
For renewing my Driving Licence the Goa Government’s Transport Department told me that I should bring a Visa or MasterCard and that my Rupay Debit card is not acceptable.
Finally I had to take a Visa card since the Transport Department has stopped accepting cash. This involved two visits to their office with consequent standing in queues etc. for a senior citizen like me which is a nuisance.
Similarly, for linking your PAN card with your Aadhaar card, the Income Tax Department website does not accept the Rupay Debit card nor has the bank, Union Bank of India, a scheduled PSU Bank on the list of banks that they accept, though a number of private banks appear on the approved list.
It is another matter that for linking your PAN card with your Aadhaar card the newspapers said that you can do this free until March 31, 2023 and only after that there is a charge levied for the exercise of Rs. 1,000. But the website asks for Rs. 1000 to be paid even now.
As for the Rupay Debit card when we had to do some hotel bookings, the website ‘booking.com’ also refused the card. Thus something has to be done so that the Rupay Debit card is accepted at all locations particularly government and commonly used websites.
This is being advised since our FM Nirmala Sitharaman recently while abroad had pitched for the Rupay Debit card to be accepted internationally since it is an India origin card.
But should she not see that it is used across the board in India particularly with government for the convenience of its users before she goes abroad with it.
