On my way home, Im quite used to a big splash of orange greeting me a Big Bazaar store banner displaying a bright logo along with some of the ongoing offers. A household name for everything essential that you can think of, shopping malls have definitely carved their niche among Indian consumers by providing the best of marketplace services at the cheapest of costs. And trust me, it proves to be an absolute heaven for women everywhere. Why, you ask? Firstly, you get everything at one place – from mundane everyday groceries to premium beauty products, from a very specific Cornflakes brand (that my daughter just cant do without) to those oh-so-exotic avocados you need to try out a new recipe. Moreover, shopping malls are a haven of discounts. Buy bulk, buy cheap. All I need to do is, step into a shopping mall for an hour or so and zip past the aisles – crossing items off my list. On one such day, I saw a massive crowd around the exit gate that immediately piqued my attention. I wondered what new surprise offer they had in store.
My questions were soon answered as I ran into Neetu, my cost-conscious shopaholic neighbor, who (as you might have guessed) is a regular at Big Bazaar. I was amused to see her eyes light up as she described a new 10% additional discount offer exclusively with RuPay Debit, Credit and Prepaid cards. According to the details I gathered from her (effortlessly), the RuPay offer is valid for more than an entire month, its live from 23rd March till 30th April, 2018 and is applicable on a minimum purchase of 1500/- only. And the icing on the cake was that, all RuPay card users could avail these benefits not only at Big Bazaar, but at eZone and FBB as well.
Now, heres the thing about discounts – they almost always sound too good to be true, dont they? However, the excitement of this offer was superseded by Neetus expressions of joy as she talked about how she was able to buy the Beyblade gaming set her son had wanted for so long, without letting its price pinch her wallet. All this was thanks to the discount she received with her RuPay card. As a housewife, I was far too aware of the cash crunch we faced towards the end of the month when you do have money to spend, but ONLY for the essentials. I made a mental note of checking out this offer on the weekend. As I retired to being a couch potato and relax for the night, RuPay had me smiling again when my mother called me up to talk about how she bought a new dress for my daughter. She got a nice discount on it as well, with her new debit card.
It was then that I realised how impactful an offer like this could be for all the 440 million RuPay Debit and Credit card holders throughout the country. And I was just a Google search away from finding out that RuPay is actually an Indian domestic card scheme conceived and launched by the National Payments Corporation of India. I couldnt help but feel a smidgen of pride that our nation is slowly, but surely stepping towards newer avenues and excelling in them too.
And RuPay cards can be extremely useful as well to the merchants as well as the consumers owing to their highly secure indigenous network, and wide acceptance at ATMs, POS devices and e-commerce websites across India. However, what really sets RuPay cards apart from its competitors is how it is aimed at a vast Indian population, enabling RBIs vision of a less-cash economy and considerably lesser charges.
Needless to say, when I entered Big Bazaar on the weekend I was armed with my brand new RuPay Platinum Debit Card. Incidentally, as a complimentary benefit of being a RuPay customer, I also had access to 30+ Domestic Airport lounges, 2 per quarter a worthy excuse to book a vacation soon! At the end of my shopping experience, I felt extremely happy to swipe my new debit card at the billing counter and avail a discount of 250 rupees. Because its not just about payments & discounts, its an opportunity. An opportunity to do something special for my family. An opportunity to make my daughter smile by finally getting her the roller skates she always wanted. And because small efforts such as these, truly make a world of difference.
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The author is a homemaker who has discovered the simplicity and convenience of using Rupay cards and recommends all homemakers to get one as well. Check out the various card choices available here.