Useless for online shopping and transactions. Review on RuPay

I have a Union Bank savings account for which I applied for a debit card which I needed for ease in online transactions and shopping online. I applied for the debit card by filling an application form in the bank. Normally, a debit card takes at least 15 days by the bank to be issued after the application is made. But to my surprise, the bank official offered me a debit card in just 5 min and informed me that the card will be activated in just 15 minutes. When I enquired about how a card can be activated so early, he told me that the card he issued me was a RuPay debit card. It takes no processing for this card to be issued.

It is ready to be used right from the moment a customer gets it. When asked about the difference between the normal debit card and RuPay debit card, he said, both the cards have same uses and there is not much difference between the two. In fact, the card is for the convenience of the customer as it does not take time to get activated.I started using the card as an ATM card first but when I first tried using it for making an online payment for exam fees, I found that the card was not applicable for use for this purpose.

The following are the problems faced in the use of RuPay debit card:

1- The card can be used as an ATM card but not for online transactions and shopping.

2- While making online payments, the details to be filled in includes an option for the name as on the card.

3- This RuPay debit card has no name of the cardholder written on it.

4- So, this card cannot be used for online shopping and transactions.

5- Another problem with this card is, the cardholder needs to pay Rs. 625 annually as a service charge for the debit card usage.

6- There are also charges of Rs. 25 on every transaction if the number of transaction limit is exceeded in a day.

Now, the actual problem is not that all these charges need to be paid for the usage of this card, but it lies in the fact that I was not informed about all this when the card was issued by the bank. If they would have pre-informed me about all this, I would have better opted for a regular debit card and would have avoided all this misery.

So, I would suggest people that they take complete information about the terms and conditions for this card usage before getting it issued.