India and Singapore collectively launch linkage of UPI and PayNow payments systems

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Singaporean counterpart Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong on Tuesday launched a real-time payment system link between the two countries.

The connection between the payment systems of the two countries is a new milestone in bilateral relations, PM Modi said on Twitter.  “The linkage is a gift to the people of both countries. I want to congratulate the people of both countries on this occasion,” PM Modi said during the virtual launch event.

Speaking about bilateral ties with Singapore, the PM said that  “fintech is also a sector that connects people to people. Under normal circumstances, this is limited to a country. However, this linkage launches a new era of cross border payments connectivity.”  The linkage between UPI and PayNow “will enable people from both countries to transfer funds at low cost in real time,” the PM said.

The cross border linkage will improve remittances and benefit Indians in Singapore, according to PM Modi. “Migrant workers, professionals and students as well as their families will be the major beneficiaries of this linkage,” the PM said. “India has been a top destination for digitalisation and innovation. The Digital India programme has made unprecedented reforms in governance and public service delivery,” the PM said, reiterating his government’s emphasis on digitalisation.

Singapore’s Prime Minister Lee said that the linkage between UPI and PayNow will take “retail payments connectivity another step forward.” he said, underlining the ease of use of the PayNow interface. “This is Singapore’s second digital linkage and the first cloud based linkage of its kind in the world,” said Lee. He said that  the partnership is expected to foster people-to-people ties. “This [partnership] will grow in utility and facilitate trade and people to people links between Singapore and India,” said the Singaporean PM. He said he hoped the partnership will “continue to spawn innovative tech solutions.”

Reserve Bank of India Governor Shaktikanta Das along with his counterpart Ravi Menon, Managing Director of the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) launched a program to link the payment interfaces of the two countries. DAs and Menon did the real-time transfer using the UPI and PayNow interfaces, with DBS and State Bank of India as the respective partner banks. UPI saw a significant increase in transactions of over Rs 12.98 trillion in January. The sector has several players offering users various payment options for bank transfers.

Linking UPI with PayNow enables the Indian diaspora in Singapore to transfer funds faster. Similarly, Singaporeans in India will be able to transfer funds home faster and cheaper thanks to the link between UPI and PayNow.