Former SBI Chief Rajnish Kumar Appointed Chairman Of Mastercard India
Mastercard, a leading credit card company, announced the appointment of Rajnish Kumar, former Chairman of the State Bank of India (SBI), as the Chairman of Mastercard India on 14 September. In this role, Kumar will provide guidance to Mastercard's South Asia executive leadership team, led by Gautam Aggarwal, Division President for South Asia & Country Corporate Officer, India, as they navigate the domestic payments landscape, as stated in Mastercard's official announcement.
Kumar's involvement will be instrumental in strengthening the local leadership team's efforts to expand Mastercard's presence in the domestic market. Furthermore, he will play a key role in reinforcing Mastercard's commitment to establishing strategic partnerships with various stakeholders within the payments ecosystem, including banks, fintech companies, governments, non-profits, and more, as highlighted by Ari Sarker, President, Asia Pacific, Mastercard.
Rajnish Kumar is a highly experienced banker with nearly four decades of service at India's largest bank. During his tenure, he held various leadership positions, overseeing critical operations in India, the UK, and Canada. He is also credited with spearheading the (You Only Need One) YONO platform. His term as SBI Chairman concluded in October 2020.
Mastercard, a company that offers a wide range of payment transaction processing and related services, including travel-related payments and bookings, operates in 210 countries worldwide.
Rajnish Kumar expressed his confidence in Mastercard's ability to contribute significantly to India's dynamic payments technology landscape, emphasising the company's commitment to partnership, progress, and inclusive growth.
It's worth noting that Mastercard faced regulatory challenges from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) in 2021, resulting in a ban on issuing debit and credit cards to new domestic customers due to compliance issues related to the storage of payment system data. However, this ban was lifted in June 2022.
Mastercard considers India a crucial growth market and has invested USD 2 billion in the country since 2014, primarily directed toward building technology centers and fostering innovation in digital payments.
