Cross-border connectivity between India and Singapore to be launched

UPI in India has become extremely necessary and popular. It has changed the way people make their payments and lead to greater financial inclusion

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Prime Minister of Singapore, Lee Hsien Loong will witness the launch of cross-border connectivity between the Unified Payments Interface (UPI) of India and PayNow of Singapore on February 21, 2023 at 11 AM (IST) via video conferencing.

The launch will be done by Shaktikanta Das, Governor, Reserve Bank of India (RBI), and Ravi Menon, Managing Director, Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), a release from the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) read.

India has emerged as one of the fastest-growing ecosystems for fintech innovation. Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visionary leadership has been instrumental in driving globalisation of India's best-in-class digital payment infrastructure. A key emphasis of the Prime Minister has been on ensuring that the benefits of UPI are not limited to India only, but other countries too benefit from it. The linkage of these two payment systems would enable residents of both countries in faster and cost-efficient transfer of cross-border remittances. It will also help the Indian diaspora in Singapore, especially migrant workers and students through instantaneous and low cost transfer of money from Singapore to India and vice-versa.

What is UPI:

• UPI stands for Unified Payments Interface. It is a real-time payment system that was launched by the National Payments Corporation of India in 2016 under the leaderships of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
• The UPI has revolutionised digital payments in India and made it easier for people to send and receive money instantly while using their mobile device.
• In December 2021 alone there were 2.5 billion transactions made through UPI according to data by the National Payments Corporation of India.
• UPI in India has been a game changer for digital payments in India. It has transformed the way people pay for goods and services. It has also enabled greater financial inclusion and economic growth.
• UPI transactions are cheaper than bank transfers and credit card payments, making them accessible to people from all walks of life.
• The UPI has helped drive financial inclusion in India and has made it easier for people in remote areas and those without access to traditional banking services to take part in the digital economy.