admin Google Pay has inked a strategic agreement with the international arm of the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) to amplify the global reach of Unified Payments Interface (UPI), as stated in a press release dated January 17. This collaboration aims to unfold various initiatives to leverage UPI infrastructure beyond Indian borders.
Facilitating Global UPI Payments and Streamlining Cross-Border Remittances
The key aim of the agreement is to expand the applicability of UPI for international travellers, allowing them to use Google Pay for making UPI payments to merchants in foreign countries. NPCI is proactively collaborating with payment firms and regulatory authorities worldwide to enhance the global acceptance of UPI. This initiative aligns with the overarching vision of establishing UPI as a favoured option for international transactions.
Moreover, the partnership seeks to streamline remittances across borders by leveraging the robust UPI infrastructure, thereby diminishing reliance on conventional money transfer channels. Currently, the remittance systems of India and Singapore have been successfully linked, paving the way for efficient UPI payments across their borders.
Paving the Way for UPI-Like Digital Payment Systems Worldwide
Another notable aspect of the collaboration involves the establishment of UPI-like digital payment systems in other countries. By emulating the achievements of UPI, which has transformed digital transactions in India, this collaboration seeks to establish an interoperable, population-scale digital infrastructure on a global scale. This move signifies a paradigm shift in the way economies handle digital transactions and is expected to have a transformative impact on the participating countries.
Expressing excitement about the collaboration, Director of Partnerships at Google Pay India, Deeksha Kaushal, noted that UPI has showcased the transformative impact on economies with the introduction of interoperable, population-scale digital infrastructure. She emphasised that each economy joining such networks would generate an impact beyond the sum of its parts, highlighting the extensive scope of the collaboration.
Notably, PhonePe, another major UPI app, has also partnered with NPCI to enhance the international footprint of UPI. UPI payments are already facilitated by the app at select merchants in Singapore, Bhutan, Nepal, Mauritius, and the UAE, contributing to the broader vision of making UPI a globally accepted standard for digital transactions.
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