India, Singapore to link digital payment systems for cross-border remittances

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Singaporean counterpart Lee Hsien Loong will witness the launch of cross-border connectivity between the Unified Payments Interface (UPI) of India and PayNow of Singapore on Tuesday via video conferencing, his office said.

The launch will be done by Shaktikanta Das, Governor, RBI, and Ravi Menon, Managing Director, Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), a statement issued by the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) said. The prime ministers will witness the launch at 11 am on Tuesday. India has emerged as one of the fastest-growing ecosystems for fintech innovation, the statement said.

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Prime Minister Modi’s visionary leadership has been instrumental in driving globalisation of India’s best-in-class digital payment infrastructure, it said. A key emphasis of the prime minister has been on ensuring that the benefits of UPI are not limited to India only but extend to other countries as well.

The linkage of these two payment systems would enable residents of both countries in faster and cost-efficient transfer of cross-border remittances, the statement said.

It will also help the Indian diaspora in Singapore, especially migrant workers and students, through instantaneous and low-cost transfer of money from Singapore to India and vice-versa, the statement said.

(With Agency inputs)