Discover Financial Services and National Payment Corporation of India Announce Strategic Alliance Enabling Increased Network Acceptance

Discover Financial Services DFS and National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) today announced they have entered into a strategic alliance resulting in acceptance of Discover cards and Diners Club International cards at NPCI ATMs and point-of-sale terminals for purchases in India. It also will allow RuPay (the national card payment network in India) cardholders to utilize the Discover, Diners Club International and PULSE networks for international purchases and cash access outside of India. Under the terms of the strategic alliance, POS and ATM transactions by RuPay network cardholders within India will be processed on the RuPay network. Outside of India, RuPay Global Card transactions will be processed on the Discover, Diners Club and PULSE ATM networks. The long-term agreement will result in increased transaction volume on NPCI's ATM and on their soon-to-be implemented POS network in India, as well as increased transaction volume on the Discover, Diners Club and PULSE networks. The companies are also working to implement D-PAS, Discover's EMV technology, to offer chip-based cards to RuPay cardmembers. The arrangement will be implemented in a phased manner. To begin with, DFS and DCI cards will be accepted at RuPay ATMs in India, followed by acceptance at RuPay POS locations. The final phase will enable acceptance of RuPay Global Cards on Discover's global payment network outside of India.