In a significant advancement in digital payments, the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) has extended the capability for Indians to receive payments from Singapore instantly and securely through major Unified Payments Interface (UPI) apps and prominent banks. This expansion comes following the successful linkage of India’s UPI and Singapore’s PayNow systems last year, facilitating seamless cross-border transactions.
The NPCI, in a statement on Thursday (January 11), announced that the cross-border linkage between UPI and PayNow allows the Indian diaspora in Singapore to send remittances directly into the bank accounts of recipients in India. The feature is now accessible through UPI-enabled apps such as BHIM, Paytm, and PhonePe, along with the apps of Axis Bank, DBS Bank India, ICICI Bank, Indian Bank, Indian Overseas Bank, and State Bank of India.
Moreover, the NPCI revealed plans to extend the facility to additional third-party application providers (TPAPs) and bank apps, including Bank of Baroda, Bank of India, Canara Bank, Central Bank of India, Federal Bank, HDFC Bank, IDFC First Bank, IndusInd Bank, Karur Vysya Bank, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Punjab National Bank, South Indian Bank, and UCO Bank in the near future.
The cross-border remittance transactions through the UPI-PayNow linkage currently have a daily transaction limit capped at INR 62,436. This development is a result of collaborative efforts between the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) to enhance interoperability.
According to Inc42’s report, UPI transactions witnessed a remarkable surge of almost 60%, reaching a record 11,768 Crores in 2023 from 7,404.45 Crores in 2022. The total value of UPI transactions also experienced significant growth, surpassing 40% year-on-year (YoY) to INR 182.84 Lakh Crores last year.
In a noteworthy milestone, the total value of UPI transactions exceeded the INR 18 Lakh Crore mark for the first time in December 2023, indicating the rising adoption among both merchants and users. In comparison, the total value of UPI transactions stood at around INR 12.8 Lakh Crores in December 2022.
This cross-border initiative is poised to enhance the ease of financial transactions for the Indian diaspora in Singapore and contribute to the growing international prominence of UPI-enabled digital payments.
