- The RBI and the Monetary Authority of Singapore have partnered to provide instant, low-cost cross-border fund transfers between both countries.
- The project, which links Unified Payments Interface (
UPI ) and PayNow of Singapore, is expected to go live by July 2022. - Once operationalised, the linkage will further anchor trade, travel and remittance flows between the two countries.
The project, which links Unified Payments Interface (UPI) and PayNow of Singapore, is expected to go live by July 2022. Once operationalised, the linkage will further anchor trade, travel and remittance flows between the two countries.
“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,” the RBI said in a press release on Sep. 14.
G20, or the Group of 20, is a multilateral forum that focuses on international cooperation on international economic and financial agenda. India is a partner country to G20, but Singapore is not. The forum’s members account for more than 80% of world GDP, 75% of global trade and 60% of the world’s population.
The linkage, it said, builds on the past efforts of the NPCI International Private Limited (NIPL) and Network for Electronic Transfers (NETS) to facilitate cross-border interoperability of payments using cards and QR codes, between India and Singapore. The initiative, it said, was also in-line with the RBI’s vision of reviewing corridors and charges for inbound cross-border remittances, as outlined in the Payment Systems Vision Document 2019-21.
UPI is India’s mobile based, 'fast payment' system that allows customers to make round the clock payments using a Virtual Payment Address (VPA) created by the customer, while PayNow is the fast payment system of Singapore which enables peer-to-peer funds transfer service.