India’s real-time payments system expands its reach to the world

[NEW DELHI] INDIA’S Unified Payments Interface (UPI) – an instant real-time payments system that allows users to transfer money across multiple banks without disclosing bank account details – has in recent weeks expanded its reach to ease cross-border payments between the world’s fifth largest economy and over a dozen foreign countries.

According to a report by the Centre of Economics and Business Research, India accounted for 40 per cent of global real-time payments in 2021. It’s estimated that, by 2026, UPI payments will help to inject an extra US$45.6 billion – or 1.12 per cent of India’s GDP – into the economy.

Last month, the Indian and Singaporean governments announced a tie-up between UPI and Singapore’s PayNow facility. According to latest data, cross-border retail payments between the two countries currently amount to more than US$1 billion a year.