The former chairman of the State Bank of India (SBI), Rajnish Kumar, has been chosen by Mastercard to lead its Indian division.
Details on Rajnish Kumar, a former SBI president, is named chairman of Mastercard India
This decision coincides with a movement towards digital transactions in India’s payment ecosystem.
Until October 2020, Rajnish Kumar held a number of executive positions at SBI. Currently, he is the chairman of payments startup BharatPe.
In his new position, Kumar will focus on bolstering the local leadership group in order to increase Mastercard’s market share in India.
The local leadership team’s attempts to increase their domestic footprint will benefit from Kumar’s involvement, according to Mastercard’s Asia-Pacific President, Ari Sarker, in a statement.
Mastercard has invested $2 billion in India since 2014 to foster innovation in digital payments and establish technology centers, despite experiencing regulatory obstacles there, including a temporary ban in 2021.
Due to compliance issues regarding the storing of payment system data, Mastercard had challenges in India, most notably a regulation limitation imposed by the central bank in 2021 that prevented the issuance of debit and credit cards to new domestic consumers.
In June 2022, this prohibition was lifted.
Since 2014, Mastercard has invested $2 billion in India because it sees the country as a key growth opportunity. These investments have been made to support the development of digital payment systems and the creation of technology centers.
