International trade association, Prepaid International Forum (PIF), today said that it will launch a new PIF India Chapter in Mumbai on August 7.
ICICI Bank's Senior General Manager, Sachin Khandelwal, has been appointed as Chairman of PIF India, a press release said.
The India Chapter is expected to have attendees from card issuers, banks, other commercial associations and regulators.
"Recent trends in pre-paid and debit cards indicate a growing acceptance of plastic in India. India has a large opportunity to service with innovative solutions in remittance, fleet, Government benefits and tolling solutions among others. We are hopeful that the Forum will bring in the desired impetus in the current market," ICICI Bank's Head Cards Group Vinayak Prasad shared.
With a population of 1.2 billion and an increasing number of young adults with only around 20 per cent having a payment card of any kind, India represents an attractive market for providers of pre-paid solutions.
"Already, some pre-paid operators have been quick to introduce solutions such as pre-paid cards, gift cards, multi-currency travel cards, meal and pay-roll cards," the release added.
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Early this year, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI)published a draft guidelines for pre-paid cards with the purpose of providing a framework for the regulation and supervision of all parties involved with pre-paid payment instruments in India.
RBI's framework will be one of the items to be discussed at the inaugural meeting in August along with the Chapter's terms of reference, proven methods of operation and innovative case studies, the release said.
Future meetings will also focus on the PIF's research and analysis of the many pre-paid business models, enabling Indian members to take away valuable lessons, it added.
"The launch of a new India Chapter represents global recognition of India as an emerging pre-paid market with tremendous potential for growth and financial inclusion," Amit Sethi, managing director, India and South Asia, TSYS(an outsourced payment services company) said.
Established in 2007 in the UK, PIF has been a catalyst for the creation of international standards and best practices in pre-paid commerce.
Its members include key issuers, vendors and programme managers actively involved in the pre-paid industry.