With the integration of these two payment systems, the Center believes it will allow residents of both countries to send cross-border remittances more quickly and cheaply. (Representational image/Twitter)
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Singaporean counterpart Lee Hsien Loong will witness the launch of cross-border connectivity between Unified Payments Interface (UPI) and Singapore’s PayNow via video conferencing on February 21.
India and Singapore will launch Linkage, a real-time payment system between the two countries, on 21 February. Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Singaporean counterpart Lee Hsien Loong will witness the launch of the Unified Payments Interface (UPI) and cross-border connectivity between Penau in Singapore via video conferencing.
According to the government, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor Shaktikanta Das, and Ravi Menon, Managing Director, Monetary Authority of Singapore, will lead the launch of this cross-border connectivity (MAS).
boost for dispatch
With the integration of these two payment systems, the Center believes it will allow residents of both countries to send cross-border remittances more quickly and cheaply. Additionally, it is expected to benefit the Indian diaspora in Singapore, especially migrant workers and students, by allowing instant and low-cost money transfers from Singapore to India and vice versa.
According to the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) document Overseas Indian Population (2022), there are 6.5 lakh Indians living in Singapore, which includes Non-Resident Indians and Persons of Indian Origin.
key initiatives
Mehul Mistry, Global Head-Strategy, Digital Financial Services & Partnerships, Wibmo told News18 that Singapore is among the top four inward remittance markets. This is about 5.7% of all remittances to India or about $5.08 billion of the total inward remittance market of $100 billion.
“The initiative will have multiple benefits such as customers outside India (in Singapore) will experience world-class payments infrastructure. It will witness the globalization of India’s best-in-class digital payment infrastructure.
Mistry believes that residents of both the countries will be able to make fast and cost-effective money movement between the two countries and will also be able to make merchant payments using the Scan QR services.
Chirag Taneja, co-founder of Gokwik, believes this is one of the most iconic moments in the world of cross-border e-commerce.
“With UPI and PayNow coming together, they are paving the way for digital-first transactions to push the boundaries,” he added. Earlier, Taneja said.
From a business perspective, he added: “Businesses also face five key challenges when making cross-border payments, such as cost, security, time, liquidity and transparency. This initiative will further address most of these problems, allowing more businesses to This will allow us to expand our reach to other markets.
Dilip Seinberg, founder and CEO of Muffinpay, said the initiative will open a new gateway for UPI-enabled fintech platforms. They also believe that “this initiative will undoubtedly act as a strong catalyst, driving a profound change in the way payments and purchases are made around the world”.
A spokesperson for mobile payments service Paytm told News18: “We welcome the UPI-PayNow real-time payment system linkage between India and Singapore, which will enable low-cost, instant and 24X7 fund transfers. We will continue to innovate to ensure that such UPI-based cross-border payments are available to all as soon as possible.”
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