RuPay credit cards on UPI: what you can and can’t do

A RuPay credit card can be added to a UPI app and used like a bank account at shops and online merchants. Here is what the rules allow, based on NPCI’s FAQs.

What works

• Paying merchants: you can pay shops and online merchants by scanning their UPI QR code.
• A UPI PIN: you set a UPI PIN for the credit card, just as for a bank account.
• Your card limit applies: the amount is limited by your card limit, any spending limit you set, and the bank’s own limits.

What doesn’t

• No sending money to people. Only payments to merchants are allowed, not transfers to friends or family.
• Only RuPay. NPCI says only RuPay credit cards can currently be linked on UPI; Visa and Mastercard credit cards can’t.

Rewards on UPI are often different

Banks set separate reward rates and caps for UPI payments. On the Tata Neu Infinity HDFC Bank card, UPI payments earn 0.5% back as NeuCoins (1.5% using a Tata Neu UPI ID), capped at 500 points a month. Always check the UPI line on your card’s page.

Find a card

Use the RuPay-UPI filter on the credit cards page.