Niti Post
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February 21, 2023
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Prime Minister of Singapore, Lee Hsien Loong participated in the virtual launch of cross-border connectivity between the Unified Payments Interface (UPI) of India and PayNow of Singapore on February 21. "This initiative will help people of both countries to transfer funds instantly and at low cost from their mobiles. This facility will enable cheaper and real-time option of remittances between the two countries," said PM Modi. He added that India's Digital India programme has improved the 'Ease of Living' and 'Ease of Doing Business'. And this initiative of cross-border connectivity is giving "Gati" (progress) to digital connectivity and financial inclusion.
Technology and Fintech is connecting the world today. "Today's launch has begun a new era of crossborder Fintech connectivity," said PM Modi. Notably, Singapore is the first country with whom India is launching a person-to-person payment facility.
The linkage of real-time payment systems between the two countries will enable faster and more cost-efficient transfers of money. The launch was done by Shaktikanta Das, Governor of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), and Ravi Menon, Managing Director of the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS). Both of them showcased a successful transfer of overseas payments between the two countries.
India's Fintech Development
In the past decade, India has emerged as one of the fastest-growing ecosystems for fintech innovation. "India's success in fintech is being led by our tech-savvy youth. Today, thousands of Indian startups are proving their mettle in the world of fintech," said PM Modi while elaborating about the digital revolution.
Financial technology (better known as Fintech) is used to describe new technology that seeks to improve and automate the delivery and use of financial services. At its core, fintech is used to help companies, business owners, merchants, and consumers.
Globalisation of India’s digital payment system
"Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visionary leadership has been instrumental in driving globalisation of India’s best-in-class digital payment infrastructure. A key emphasis of the Prime Minister has been on ensuring that the benefits of UPI are not limited to India only, but other countries too benefit from it," stated the Ministry of External Affairs.
Speaking about the emergence of digitalized systems, PM Modi stated that India’s Digital infrastructure played a crucial role and was very useful during the COVID pandemic.
The government is promoting the globalisation of India’s digital payment infrastructure. The linkage would enable residents of both countries to make easier, faster, and more cost-efficient transfers of cross-border remittances. It will also benefit the Indian diaspora in Singapore, especially migrant workers and students, through the instantaneous and low cost transfer of money from Singapore to India and vice versa.
UPI, the most preferred payment mechanism in India
According to the data released by the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI), the UPI recorded over 7.82 billion transactions worth Rs 12.82 trillion in December 2022- a new record since it was launched in 2016. Notably, the value of transactions has spiked from Rs 0.1 trillion to as much as Rs 100 trillion during this period. The objective of UPI is to create an indigenous Indian payment system. "Today UPI has become the most preferred payment mechanism in India," remarked PM Narendra Modi.
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