India's UPI makes global debut in partnership with Singapore's PayNow
Starting today, cross-border payments between India and Singapore are going to get easier. The Unified Payment Interface (UPI) of India and Singapore's PayNow will be linked to enable faster cross-border remittances. Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong will witness the launch of the cross-border connectivity virtually today, a Prime Minister's Office statement said.
Why does this story matter?
Making cross-border payments faster, cost-effective, and more transparent would benefit economic growth, development, global trade, and financial inclusion. India's UPI has emerged as a potential candidate to disrupt the incumbent system of cross-border payments. NPCI International Payments, or NIPL, has been working on making UPI a globally accepted mode of cross-border transactions by collaborating with private players and governments.
RBI Governor and MAS MD will launch the linkage today
The UPI-PayNow linkage will be kicked off by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor Shaktikanta Das and Monetary Authority of Singapore's (MAS) Managing Director Ravi Menon at 11 am today via video conference. The memorandum of understanding (MoU) for the linkage was signed by RBI and MAS in 2021. The linkage was expected to be operational in 2022.
Users will be able to make instant and cheap transfers
With the UPI-PayNow linkage, users will be able to make instant, cheap fund transfers from one bank account to another between India and Singapore. Once implemented, fund transfers from India to Singapore can be done using mobile numbers. At the same time, people in Singapore will be able to send funds to India using UPI virtual payment addresses (VPA).
Singapore's High Commissioner to India called the linkage 'milestone intiative'
Simon Wong, Singapore's High Commissioner to India, called the linkage a "milestone initiative." "This milestone initiative reflects the deep trust between both countries and will take the bilateral relationship to even greater heights," he said. "Singapore has completely integrated UPI and other countries are working on an urgent basis to integrate their payment system with UPI," said Ashwini Vaishnaw, Minister of Electronics and IT.
RBI extended the UPI facility to inbound travelers
UPI has been gaining popularity around the globe. The RBI recently announced its decision to extend the UPI facility to inbound travelers. At first, only travelers from G-20 countries arriving at select international airports will be able to use it. Later, it will be extended further to other countries. Recently, Vaishnaw said India signed MoU with 13 countries to adopt UPI for digital payments.
