Reportedly, there are three kinds of prepaid cards, open loop cards issued by banks, semi-closed loop cards issued by non-banking finance companies (NBFCs) and close loop cards like gift vouchers issued by companies. Last year, RBI had brought close and semi-closed loop cards under the payments and settlement act.
A senior executive of a public sector bank said: “RBI is considering to allow open loop cards to withdraw money from a PoS terminal. RBI is working on issues, like the amount a PoS owner should charge. The decision may come soon.”
Sachin Khandewal, senior general manager of ICICI Bank, said: “We expect the growth to be around 50-70% in the coming years. There is a huge potential in this industry, as it efficiently generates income for the issuers.”
