India expands national payment network to Singapore

India’s national payment network, the unified payments interface (UPI), is expanding its services beyond Indian borders, integrating with Singapore’s PayNow rapid payment system. Shaktikanta Das, governor of the Reserve Bank of India, and Ravi Menon, managing director of the Monetary Authority of Singapore, launched the facility through token transactions using the UPI-PayNow linkage.
The UPI-PayNow integration will allow users of the two nations to send money across borders quickly. It is possible to send or receive money from India using only a UPI-id, cellphone number or virtual payment address for money held in bank accounts or e-wallets. UPI’s instant real-time payment system helps to transfer cash immediately via a mobile interface between the two bank accounts.