India on Tuesday announced the linking of the real-time payment system Unified Payments Interface, or UPI, with Singapore’s PayNow.
The move will enable users in both countries to make cross-border transactions. This is the first-of-its-kind collaboration between two nations.
While UPI enables customers to make round-the-clock instant payments after using a Virtual Payment Address in India, Singapore’s PayNow enables peer-to-peer funds transfer service through participating banks and Non-Bank Financial Institutions in Singapore.
The announcement to link the two was made during a virtual event attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Singaporean counterpart Lee Hsien Loong. Reserve Bank of India Governor Shaktikanta Das and the Monetary Authority of Singapore Managing Director Ravi Menon were also present.
Modi said that the move will benefit the Indian diaspora in Singapore, particularly migrant workers and students.
“Today’s launch opens a new chapter in cross-border FinTech connectivity,” Modi said. “From today onwards, people in Singapore and India will be able to transfer money from their mobile phones in the same way as they do within their respective countries.”
The plan to link UPI with Singapore’s PayNow was first agreed upon in September 2021, according to Reuters.
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