The Unified Payment Interface (UPI) of India has expanded its network to Singapore to provide a cross-border payment system that’ll connect the two countries. In a collaborative effort, the latest development will see the integration of India’s UPI and Singapore’s PayNow to facilitate transactions between the two countries.
The official Twitter engagement handle for the Indian government confirmed the development today via a tweet. The platform gave an insight to the perspective of India’s Prime Minister, Narendra Modi to the innovation. According to the post, the Prime Minister stated that Since its inception, the UPI has improved the ease of living. Also he said that the latest attempt will give Gati Shakti a digital connectivity and financial inclusion.
Now, the latest effort will see citizens of India and Singapore carry out transactions swiftly, eliminating the stress that comes with existing payment systems. With the recent advancement of the UPI, Singaporeans can now carry out transactions involving India with their UPI-id, mobile number or Virtual Payment Address.
Also, the innovation will leverage UPI’s swift real-time system. This system will aid the seamless processing of transactions using a virtual interface involving two bank accounts. With that, citizens of the two countries can transfer funds from their Virtual Payment Addresses or Bank Accounts.
Worth noting that the development surface due to the efforts of the Reserve Bank of India and the Monetary Authority of Singapore. More so, the UPI and PayNow integration highlights the commitment of the Indian government towards advancing the state of its financial payment system.
How the extension of UPI’s service will increase the volume of digital transaction in India
Presently, the Reserve Bank of India is working on a pilot program for its Central Bank Digital Currency. The program which comes in two phases involving wholesale market and retailers took place. Divided into two phases, the first phase which involved the wholesale market took place last November. Similarly, the second phase for retailers as well came into play in December 2022.
So far, India’s CDBC pilot program has facilitated about 770,000 transactions through eight banks across the five participating cities. However, the Reserve Bank of India will explore the option of increasing the number of cities involved in the program to fourteen. Alongside the CBDC program, the extension of UPI’s service will further increase the volume of digital transactions in the country.
The Reserve Bank of India and the Finance Minister, Nirmala Sitharaman are exploring alternative options fo facilitating virtual transactions without involving cryptocurrency. The Finance Minister on numerous occasions has opposed the presence of cryptocurrency in India. The pursuit birthed the introduction of the Digital Rupee.
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