India’s UPI Reaches Paris, Singapore and UAE
The payments game
By Menaka Doshi 15 February 2024 Bloomberg
UPI’s Global Ambitions
Seven countries and the Eiffel Tower mark the beginning of what could be a significant year for the internationalization of UPI.
Starting this month, Indians can buy a ticket to visit the iconic tower in Paris using the Unified Payments Interface platform. They will be able to transact at almost 3 million merchant establishments across these seven Asian countries and remit money from the UAE and Singapore — which account for a fourth of the $125 billion remitted to India in 2023.
The numbers, still insignificant compared to the more than 250 million local QR code points, will be slow at the start, Rahul Matthan, founding partner at law firm Trilegal, said to me over the phone. Then, with a few successes, the hockey stick curve comes in. Even when the numbers become significant they will just be a small fraction of what they are going to be once this kicks off, he said.
That’s how it went locally — from 920 million transactions in 2017-18, UPI’s first full year of operations — to 84 billion in 2022-23. January clocked 12.2 billion, almost twice the monthly average of last year. The target is 1 billion transactions per day by 2026-27.
India's UPI Travels Abroad
Access points in 7 countries
UPI's global outreach, first recommended by a Nandan Nilekani-led committee, is aimed at building high-speed pipes to achieve real-time, lower-cost, cross-border transactions and propagating an Indian digital finance architecture in countries where it has trade, travel and diaspora ties.
While the momentum is visible, the benefits will take time to accrue. For instance, an Indian currently visiting the UAE may think this newsletter is wrong about the expanding acceptability of UPI because most commercial establishments that are UPI enabled won't have signs up yet. That’s a work in progress.
National Payments Corporation of India, the agency tasked with operating UPI in India and abroad, is set to double UPI acceptability points in the UAE and Singapore. Yet merchant visibility — signs that show UPI is accepted there — could take up to 12 months and only then will transaction traffic pick up.
Reach is one challenge, lowering transaction costs is the other. Cross-border payments cost a minimum 4-5% in transfer fees and foreign exchange mark ups. UPI's leaner model, which has fewer intermediaries, has the potential to cut transfer fees by a quarter. Foreign exchange conversion costs are tougher to lower unless settlements are done directly by central banks or someday via their digital currencies. As yet it’s not clear if either have come down.
Raising the limit on transaction values, both for remittances and merchant payments, and devising a settlement mechanism for cross-border payment disputes are among the other hurdles UPI will have to overcome if it wants to scale up its global presence and over time enable business-to-business transactions as well.
As NPCI sets its sight on the US, UK, Saudi Arabia, Australia, Japan, Malaysia and 17 other countries on its first shortlist, other countries are stepping up their payments game. Some ASEAN countries have expanded regional links. China, the giant in digital payments by value, is dominated by private wallets like Alipay that already operate in many countries.
Few of these have the benefit of UPI’s open architecture and operability across banks and payment systems.
That advantage would have been best served by the export of the UPI protocol — or its design — making it easier for countries to interconnect, Matthan said. But if each country is sticking with its own way of doing payments, India will find expertise in building “middleware” to connect systems, he said.
Full adoption is a tough diplomatic sell except to some groups of low income countries. Yet, were the NPCI to succeed in that, it could lead the way for export of other elements of India’s digital public infrastructure in a packaged solution format, as a Carnegie India paper puts it.
That would mark a potent combination of the country’s economic ascent, financial innovation, hard diplomacy and soft power. Till then, the view from the top of the Eiffel will have to do. Breathtaking.⇡
UPI payments launched in Sri Lanka, Mauritius to boost economic ties
Press Trust of India New Delhi Feb 12 2024
India's Unified Payment Interface (UPI) services were on Monday rolled out in Sri Lanka and Mauritius, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi describing it as linking historic ties with modern digital technology.
India's RuPay card services were also launched in Mauritius at a virtual ceremony attended by Prime Minister Modi, his Mauritian counterpart Pravind Jugnauth and Sri Lankan President Ranil Wickremesinghe.
In his remarks, Modi hoped the new fintech services would help the two nations and said the UPI is implementing "new responsibilities of uniting partners with India".
"Today is a special day for the three friendly countries of the Indian Ocean Region as we are linking our historic ties with modern digital technology," he said.
"I believe that Sri Lanka and Mauritius will benefit from the UPI system," Modi said.
The prime minister said digital public infrastructure has brought about a revolutionary change in India. He also highlighted India's focus on its "neighbourhood first policy".
"Be it a natural disaster, health-related, economic or supporting on the international stage, India has been the first responder, and will continue to be so," he said.
The launch of the Indian services in Sri Lanka and Mauritius came amid New Delhi's increasing bilateral economic ties with the two countries.
The move enables the availability of UPI settlement services for Indian nationals travelling to Sri Lanka and Mauritius as well as for Mauritian nationals travelling to India.
Developed by the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI), UPI is an instant real-time payment system to facilitate inter-bank transactions through mobile phones. RuPay is a global card payment network from India, with wide acceptance at shops, ATMs, and online.
UPI in Sri Lanka – How will it work and what will be its benefits?
February 16, 2024 by Makarand Jamdade
As per various sources 12th February means today will mark the launch of India’s Unified Payments Interface (UPI) in Sri Lanka and Mauritius.
UPI in Sri Lanka
The expansion of these two popular tourist hotspots mark an important milestone in fostering digital connectivity and facilitating faster, seamless transactions between nations .
This move reflects the growing adoption and acceptance of India’s digital payment infrastructure worldwide, reinforcing its position as a leader in the fintech space.
The effort by Indian authorities to promote the use of its payment systems globally reflect a strategic push towards financial integration and collaboration.
The transactions of UPI are secured with multi-layered authentication, involving UPI PIN, fingerprint, or pattern locks. It ensures that your financial data remains protected.
How will UPI work in Sri Lanka?
India’s Unified Payment Interface services have been launched in Sri Lanka and Mauritius at a virtual ceremony on Monday, in the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Mauritian PM Pravind Jugnauth and Sri Lanka President Ranil Wickremesingle.
India’s UPI services in Sri Lanka will be given by Sri Lanka’s LankaPay. The procedure of working UPI in form of steps are given below
Indian citizens visiting Sri Lanka are required to activate UPI international on their preferred UPI app for making QR code-based merchant payments in Sri Lanka.
Scan the LankaPay QR code
Enter the needed or payable amount
Enter UPI PIN
Finally payment is done successfully
What will be the benefits of UPI in Sri Lanka
The new UPI service, crafted through the National Payment Corporation of India, represents an instant real time payment system designed to facilitate inter-bank transactions by mobile phones.
The introduction of UPI settlement services will give transactions for Indian nationals travelling to Sri Lanka which is a highly good facility.
The UPI of Sri Lanka is a mobile based payment system in India that permits round the clock payment via virtual payment address.
It powers multiple bank accounts into a single mobile application, merging various banking features, seamless fund routing and merchant payments into a single hood.
The UPI eliminates the requirement and shares lengthy bank account details for each transaction. Without UPI ID users can make payment through simply entering a unique identifier, making the procedure quick and hassle free.
RuPay is a globally recognized card payment network originating from India with widespread acceptance at various points for sale, ATMs, and online platforms.
For Sri Lanka this UPI provides a user-friendly interface that simplifies the procedure of payment. With UPI customers easily make payments with their smartphones, eliminating the requirement to carry cash and physical bank branches.
This launch aligns with New Delhi’s expanding bilateral economic ties with Sri Lanka marking an important step towards strengthening digital connectivity and financial collaboration between these nations.
The Ministry of External affairs emphasised India’s Leadership in Fintech innovation and Digital Public Infrastructure, with the prime minister prioritising the sharing of experiences in development and innovation with partner countries.
A key emphasis of the Indian government has been on ensuring that the advantages of UPI are not limited only, but other countries benefit from it.
The Modi government has been successfully pushing for a worldwide acceptance of UPI. Indian visitors can utilize their UPI-enabled application to make a payment by scanning a QR code on the Eiffel Tower Website.⍐
இலங்கைக்குள் நுழையும் இந்திய நாணயமும் வங்கிகளும்
இலங்கையின் மூன்று முக்கிய அரச வங்கிகள் தற்போது பெரும் நெருக்கடியை எதிர்நோக்கி வருவதாக கொழும்பு பல்கலைக்கழக பொருளியல் துறை பேராசிரியர் கோபாலபிள்ளை அமிர்தலிங்கம் தெரிவித்துள்ளார்.
இந்த அரச வங்கிகளின் வீழ்ச்சி காரணமாக இந்திய வங்கிகள் பல கொழும்பு உள்ளிட்ட பல நகரங்களில் தமது கிளைகளை ஆரம்பித்துள்ளதாகவும், இதன்மூலம் இந்திய ரூபாய்கள் விரைவில் இலங்கைக்குள் நுழைய வாய்ப்புள்ளதாகவும் குறிப்பிட்டுள்ளார்.
லங்காசிறியின் ஊடறுப்பு நிகழ்ச்சியில் கலந்து கொண்டு கருத்து தெரிவிக்கும் போதே அவர் இந்த விடயத்தைக் கூறியுள்ளார்.
மேலும், மத்திய வங்கியில் இருக்கும் தொழில்நுட்பத்தின் மூலம் 10 இலட்சத்திற்கும் அதிகமாக வைப்பிலிடுபவர்களுக்கு பெரும் சிக்கல்கள் உள்ளதாகவும், அரசாங்கம் பல கடுமையாக கட்டுப்பாடுகள் மூலம் இறுக்க முற்படுவதாகவும் தெரிவித்துள்ளார்.
எனவே அரச வங்கிகள் வீழ்ச்சியடையும் போது தனியார் வங்கிகளும் வீழ்ச்சியடையும் எனவும் எச்சரித்துள்ளார்.⍐
