PM Modi hails UPI as India, Singapore link online payment systems

India and Singapore on Tuesday linked their online payment systems, enabling safe, instant, and cost-effective cross-border funds transfers. Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed hope that digital transactions would soon surpass that of cash.

PM Modi, along with his Singaporean counterpart Lee Hsien Loong, witnessed the launch of cross-border connectivity between the Unified Payments Interface (UPI) of India and PayNow of Singapore.

“Many experts are estimating that very soon India’s digital wallet transactions are going to overtake cash transactions,” PM Modi said. He added that 74 billion transactions were done through UPI last year.

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A large number of transactions via UPI demonstrate that the indigenously designed payment system is very secure, Modi said.

The UPI-PayNow linkage will enable users of the two fast payment systems in either country to make convenient, safe, instant, and cost-effective cross-border funds transfers using their respective mobile apps, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) said in a statement.

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Funds held in bank accounts or e-wallets can be transferred to or from India using just the UPI-id, mobile number, or Virtual Payment Address (VPA), it said. More banks will be included in the linkage over time.

“Linkage of UPI and PayNow is a new milestone in India-Singapore relations. UPI is the most-preferred payment mechanism in India. UPI is expanding its footprint in other nations as well,” PM Modi said on the occasion.

(With inputs from PTI)

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