India, Singapore launch project to link UPI and PayNow
What's the story
India and Singapore will link their respective fast payment systems - Unified Payments Interface (UPI) and PayNow - to enable users to make instant, low-cost fund transfers on a reciprocal basis, the Reserve Bank said on Tuesday.
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) announced the project to link the fast payment systems, the RBI stated.
Linkage
The linkage is targeted for operationalization by July 2022: RBI
"The linkage is targeted for operationalization by July 2022," the RBI further said in the statement.
"The UPI-PayNow linkage will enable the users of each of the two fast payment systems to make instant as well as low-cost fund transfers on a reciprocal basis without a need to get onboarded onto the other payment system," it said.
Information
UPI-PayNow linkage closely aligns with G20's financial inclusion priorities
RBI said the UPI-PayNow linkage is a significant milestone in the development of infrastructure for cross-border payments between India and Singapore and closely aligns with the G20's financial inclusion priorities of driving faster, cheaper, and more transparent cross-border payments.
Initiative
Linkage will anchor trade, travel, remittance flows between the countries
The linkage builds upon earlier efforts of NPCI International Private Limited and Network for Electronic Transfers to foster cross-border payment interoperability using cards and QR codes, between India and Singapore.
It will anchor trade, travel and remittance flows between the two countries.
This initiative aligns with RBI's vision of reviewing corridors and charges for inbound cross-border remittances outlined in Payment Systems Vision Document 2019-21.
UPI
What is UPI?
UPI is a mobile-based fast payment system that facilitates customers to make round-the-clock payments instantly using a Virtual Payment Address (VPA) created by the customer.
This eliminates the risk of sharing bank account details by the remitter. UPI supports both Person-to-Person (P2P) and Person-to-Merchant (P2M) payments and enables a user to send or receive money.
PayNow
What is PayNow?
PayNow is the fast payment system of Singapore that enables peer-to-peer funds transfer service, available to retail customers through participating banks and Non-Bank Financial Institutions (NFIs) in Singapore.
It enables users to send and receive instant funds from one bank or e-wallet account to another in Singapore by using just their mobile number, Singapore NRIC/FIN, or VPA.