Rajnish Kumar appointed as Chairman of Mastercard India

By Gloria Mathias

Mastercard has announced the appointment of Rajnish Kumar, former Chairman of the State Bank of India (SBI), as the Chairman of Mastercard India.

In this critical, non-executive advisory role, Mr Kumar will guide Mastercard’s South Asia executive leadership team led by Gautam Aggarwal, Division President for South Asia and Country Corporate Officer, in India, in navigating the vibrant domestic payments landscape.

Ari Sarker, President of Asia Pacific, Mastercard said, “Mastercard is most pleased to welcome Mr. Rajnish Kumar – one of India’s most distinguished banking industry veterans – as our India Chairman. Under Mr Kumar’s invaluable stewardship, Mastercard will seek to further digital payments adoption and acceptance in the market and continue to actively support the government’s Digital India vision in innovative and impactful ways.”

“Mr Kumar will be keenly involved in augmenting the local leadership team in its efforts to expand our domestic footprint while bolstering Mastercard’s ongoing commitment to forging strategic partnerships with stakeholders across the payment’s ecosystem – from banks to FinTechs to governments, non-profits and more,” added Sarker.

“I am keenly looking forward to sharing my knowledge, experience, and expertise with Mastercard as the company becomes an even more deeply embedded player and strategic partner to organizations across the public and private sectors in India. With its relentless focus on partnering for progress and driving prosperity through inclusive growth, Mastercard has the technologies, capabilities, resources, and heart to contribute greatly to India’s vibrant payments technology landscape. It is my honour to share Mastercard’s story and its enthusiasm for collaboration with local partners with an even bigger audience in India,” said Rajnish Kumar, Chairman of Mastercard India.

Mr Kumar, an accomplished career banker with four decades of lauded service with the SBI, has held a wide range of leadership roles at SBI and its subsidiaries that saw him managing critical operations across India and internationally in the United Kingdom and Canada. An early adopter of technology in Indian banking, Mr. Kumar spearheaded the development of SBI’s digital platform, YONO. More recently, he concluded a three-year term as SBI Chairman in October 2020.