The Unified Payments Interface takes an important stride forward – as does India’s soft power tech push
India’s use of government-created tech to expand its sphere of influence advanced yesterday, when Singapore agreed to link the Unified Payments Interface (UPI) to its own PayNow scheme – enabling real-time cross-border payments between the two nations.
UPI is a peer-to-peer or peer-to-merchant scheme that transfers money between bank accounts in real time. PayNow does likewise, using a mobile phone number as the identifier.
Both schemes were designed for use within their source nation’s borders.
But yesterday Indian prime minister Narendra Modi and Singapore PM Lee Hsien Loong announced interoperability between the schemes, meaning residents in either country can make cross-border payments in real time – provided they hold accounts with participating banks.
News of the two schemes intertwining is about more than just convenience, or the boost to the nations’ digital economies both leaderss enthused about at the launch.
The announcement is also a demonstration of India using government-developed software to extend its regional influence.
India created UPI to meet a domestic need for faster payments – and to bring more people out of the cash economy and within reach of tax authorities.
