EnKash Launches India’s First UPI-Enabled Meal Card

EnKash, an Indian business payments and spend management platform, launched India’s first meal card with Unified Payments Interface-based payments on 22 July 2026. The card allows employees to pay from their meal card balance by scanning eligible UPI QR codes at food and grocery merchants across India.

Meal Card and UPI Payment Model

The EnKash Meal Card combines a meal benefit instrument with UPI acceptance. It supports payments at food and grocery merchants through QR code scanning and also works through physical and virtual card formats.

• The card can be used for tap, swipe, scan, and online orders.
• The payment system uses UPI for QR-based transactions and RuPay for wider card acceptance.
• The card is designed for employee meal benefits under tax-efficient payroll structures.

Tax Rules and Benefit Limits

Under revised Income Tax Rules effective from 1 April 2026, the meal allowance limit increased to ₹8,800 per month, or ₹200 per meal. Employees can save up to ₹1,05,600 annually in tax-free meal benefits under this limit.

• Meal benefits are a common employee welfare component in India’s payroll system.
• Tax-free meal allowances are linked to prescribed per-meal and monthly limits.
• Such benefits are used by employers as part of compensation and reimbursement structures.

Merchant Coverage and Employer Controls

The meal card is accepted at more than 500,000 food and grocery outlets across India. It is also usable on online food delivery platforms such as Swiggy, Zomato, and Blinkit. For employers, EnKash provides instant card issuance, bulk reloading, real-time transaction visibility, and merchant category-based spending controls. EnKash also holds its own RBI PPI licence, which gives it control over issuance, limits, and usage policies.

Important Facts for Exams

• Unified Payments Interface is India’s real-time payment system developed by the National Payments Corporation of India.
• RuPay is India’s domestic card payment network.
• A Prepaid Payment Instrument is a payment tool that stores monetary value for future transactions.
• The Reserve Bank of India regulates prepaid payment instruments in India.

Prepaid Payment Instruments in India

Prepaid Payment Instruments in India include cards, wallets, and vouchers that store value for later use. RBI authorisation is required for entities that issue regulated prepaid payment products in the country.