UPI-PayNow Linked: Here's How Integration of India and Singapore's Digital Payment Systems Would Benefit Users

India's UPI and Singapore's Pay Now were merged on Monday (February 20) at 11 am during a meeting led by Reserve Bank of India (RBI) governor Shaktikanta Das, and Ravi Menon, managing director of the Monetary Authority of Singapore. Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong virtually attended the launch event.

The merge will help directly transact money from Indian UPI apps like Google Pay, PhonePe, Paytm, etc., to send money to Singapore via the Pay Now app. According to the Ministry of External Affairs, more than 6.5 lakhs Indians reside in Singapore. They will be directly benefitted from it.

Why Are UPI and Pay Now Merged?

India is going to host the G20 summit this year. Singapore is not a G20 member. However, it has been invited to participate in the summit and its related processes from 2010 to 2011 and 2013 to 2023. UPI Processes Record 8.03 Billion Transactions in January, Starts 2023 on a High.

The RBI said, "the linkage would be a significant milestone in developing next-generation infrastructure for cross-border payments between India and Singapore. It will also closely align with the G20's financial inclusion priorities of driving faster, cheaper and more transparent cross-border payments."

The project's main aim is to link both the fast payment systems to facilitate more efficient and transparent cross-border transactions relating to trade, travel and remittances between the two countries. UPI Down: Social Media Flooded With Complaints as Users Unable to Make Payments.

What is UPI?

UPI, or Unified Payments Interface, was founded by the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI). This enables quick transfer using a mobile phone number linked to the bank account. The app enables real-time payments, Person-to-Person (P2P) and Person-to-Merchant (P2M) payments.

What is PayNow?

Just like India's UPI, PayNow is used in Singapore. People can send and receive money in Singapore using this app. It is like an e-wallet. This enables participating banks and Non-Bank Financial Institutions (NFIs) in the country.

The project started in September last year. It will help both India and Singapore. In the Indian diaspora in Singapore, migrant workers and students can make the low-cost transfer of money from Singapore to India and vice-versa. According to RBI Remittance Survey 2021, India acquired 5.7% of remittances from Singapore in 2020-21.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Feb 21, 2023 04:54 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).