New Delhi: The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and NPCI International Payments  (NIPL) plan to extend the Unified Payments Interface (UPI) to 20 countries by FY29, as per ANI report. The RBI Annual Report highlights efforts to expand the global presence of both UPI and RuPay.


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“In light of goals for Viksit Bharat 2047, the Reserve Bank, along with NPCI International Payments Ltd. (NIPL) will work towards taking UPI to 20 countries with initiation timeline of 2024-25 and completion timeline of 2028-29,” the report stated. (Also Read: Gold Price Falls In India: Check 24-Carat Rates In Your City Today)


The RBI report further notes “Fast Payment System (FPS) collaboration with group of countries like European Union and South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC), as well as multilateral linkages will be explored”. (Also Read: UPI Breaks Record! 14.04 Billion Transactions In May, Sees 49% Year-on-Year Growth)


Exploring Global Collaborations 


The RBI report discusses the potential for collaboration with countries in the European Union and the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC). It further discusses the exploration of multilateral linkages for the Fast Payment System (FPS).


The Payments Vision Document 2025 by the RBI has identified the international expansion of UPI and RuPay cards as a key objective. The RBI is in discussions with various central banks to form collaborative arrangements, the report added.


Recent Developments in Payment Systems


In July 2023, the Reserve Bank and the Central Bank of the UAE (CBUAE) signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) for interlinking their payments infrastructure. Under this MoU, India and UAE have agreed to cooperate on linking their Fast Payment Systems, UPI of India with Instant Payment Platform (IPP) of UAE called Aani. Both countries also agreed to link their respective Card Switches (RuPay switch and UAESWITCH).


In February 2024, RuPay cards and UPI connectivity between India and Mauritius was launched. This allows Indian travellers in Mauritius to pay merchants using UPI apps and vice versa for Mauritian travellers in India. Similarly, in February 2024, UPI connectivity between India and Sri Lanka was established, enabling Indian travellers to make QR code-based payments at merchant locations in Sri Lanka using UPI apps.


Future Expansion and Current UPI Collaborations


The Reserve Bank of India and Nepal Rastra Bank are also exploring the linkage of UPI platform of India and National Payments Interface of Nepal for enabling cross-border payments. In June 2023, NPCI International Payments Ltd. (NIPL) and Nepal Clearing House Ltd. (NCHL) signed a MoU for the purpose


UPI payment through QR code is already accepted for merchant (e-commerce) payments in France and Nepal. India has some or other kinds of tie-ups with seven countries for making payments through UPI. (With ANI Inputs)