UPI-PayNow linkage will enable instant, low-cost fund transfers, eliminating the need for onboarding onto other payment system
India, Singapore to link fast payment systems. (Credit: Pexels from Pixabay.)
India’s Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and Singapore’s Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) have initiated a new project to link their fast payment systems.
As part of the project, RBI’s Unified Payments Interface (UPI) and MAS’ PayNow will be linked, and the linkage is expected to be operational by July 2022.
UPI-PayNow linkage is expected to enable the users to make instant, low-cost fund transfers on a reciprocal basis, eliminating onboarding onto other payment system.
It forms a significant milestone in the development of infrastructure for cross-border payments between India and Singapore.
Also, the project is said to complement G20’s financial inclusion priorities of driving rapid, cost-effective and transparent cross-border payments.
RBI said that the initiative is in line with its goal for corridors and charges for inbound cross-border remittances, as per its Payment Systems Vision Document 2019-21.
The linkage builds on the earlier efforts of NIPL and NETS towards cross-border interoperability of payments using cards and QR codes, between India and Singapore.
Also, the project is expected to further strengthen the trade, travel and remittance flows between the two countries.
UPI is India’s mobile-based, fast payment system that enables customers to make payments instantly, using a Virtual Payment Address (VPA).
It supports both Person to Person (P2P) and Person to Merchant (P2M) payments and eliminates the risk of sharing bank account details by the remitter.
PayNow is Singapore’s fast payment system, which enables users to send and receive instant funds from banks or e-wallets to another, using mobile number, Singapore NRIC/FIN, or VPA.
The peer-to-peer funds transfer service is available to retail customers through participating banks and Non-Bank Financial Institutions (NFIs) in Singapore.