UPI and PayNow connectivity: Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Prime Minister of Singapore, Lee Hsien Loong, on February 21 witnessed the launch of cross-border connectivity between the Unified Payments Interface (UPI) of India and PayNow of Singapore via video conferencing.
Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor Shaktikanta Das and Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) managing director Ravi Menon launched the cross-border connectivity.
Milestone in India-Singapore relations
“Linkage of Unified Payments Interface (UPI) and PayNow is a new milestone in India-Singapore relations,” PM Modi said. He called UPI “the most preferred payment mechanism” in India as “74 billion transactions amounting to more than ₹126 trillion were done through UPI in 2022.”
“Many experts are estimating that digital wallet transactions are going to soon overtake cash transactions,” PM Modi added.
The easy linkage between UPI and Singapore’s PayNow will help residents of the two countries do faster and cost-efficient transfers. The instant and low-cost transfer is particularly useful for migrant workers and students studying in both countries, a statement issued by the Prime Minister’s office yesterday said.
Visionary fintech innovation
Union finance ministry said in a statement that India has emerged as one of the fastest-growing ecosystems for fintech innovation. PM Modi’s visionary leadership has driven 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 statement said.
It further added that the linkage would enable residents of both countries in faster and cost-efficient transfer of cross-border remittances. The Indian diaspora in Singapore, especially migrant workers and students, will benefit from instantaneous and low cost transfer of money from Singapore to India and vice-versa.
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