Seychelles may soon adopt India's UPI payments technology
India has extended an offer of technological cooperation to Seychelles on Unified Payments Interface (UPI), as per Mint which cited insiders familiar with the situation. Seychelles, an important political and military ally for India in the Indian Ocean since gaining independence from Britain in 1976, is currently evaluating the proposal. This initiative is a part of India's strategy to promote its digital solutions among partner nations and the Global South, with UPI technology already implemented in Bhutan and Nepal.
Number of countries utilizing UPI is expected to double
Ritesh Shukla, CEO of NPCI International, recently mentioned that the number of countries utilizing UPI is expected to double within the next 12-18 months. India's UPI offerings consist of two aspects: developing technological infrastructure and sharing expertise with partner nations. Shukla stated that when visitors, including tourists, businesspeople, or students, travel abroad, they should have the option to use UPI-enabled apps in various markets for merchant payments. The second use case focuses on remittances, which would enable cross-border money transfers.
UPI collaboration to strengthen bond between both nations
India's engagement with Seychelles has primarily centered on defense cooperation. The nation has been working on establishing a Coastal Surveillance Radar System (CSRS) and supplying defense equipment like Dornier aircraft to Seychelles. Bilateral trade between India and Seychelles, which has a population of just over 1,00,000, remains limited. The proposed UPI tech collaboration could further solidify the bond between the two countries.
