Singapore, UAE to bank on India for money: Soon, UPI will power digital payments abroad

India’s digital payment backbone UPI, which has awed some of the biggest tech companies in the world such as Google and Oracle, may soon power Singapore and UAE. Unified Payments Interface (UPI) may soon be available in Singapore and UAE as NPCI looks to expand globally. NPCI is eyeing international markets and will launch a pilot project in 6-9 months, Dilip Asbe, CEO and MD, National Payments Corporation of India, told CNBC TV-18 in an interview. However, the organisation will need to secure approval of the governments of both India and the countries that it looks to expand to, Dilip Asbe added. UPI is one of the fastest adopted payments systems in the world.

Launched in 2016, UPI has crossed one billion transactions mark in India, getting a big push after Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s demonetisation move. Digital payments have gained momentum in the last three years due to factors like government pushing for digital, cashless society and fast, reliable, and frictionless services rendered by platforms such as Paytm, Google Pay etc. In just eight months from April 2019, India has reported digital transactions worth Rs 2,154 crore, according to Digidhan dashboard.