India’s UPI and Singapore’s PayNow integrated; here's all you need to know

In the first step towards expanding the reach of the UPI, India and Singapore have integrated their online payments system. Unified Payments Interface (UPI) of India and PayNow of Singapore are now connected for seamless cross-border transactions between the two countries.

Beginning now, residents of both India and Singapore will be able to transfer money to each other instantly using UPI and Singapore's PayNow.

For the launch of this facitiliy, token transactions using the UPI-PayNow linkage, were made by RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das and Managing Director of Monetary Authority of Singapore, Ravi Menon. PM Modi and Singapore Prime Minister attended the launch event virtually.

How is it going to help?
Cross border transactions are usually expensive. Now, with this linkage, users from both countries will be able to transfer money faster and in a much more cost-efficient manner.

The RBI said that the linkage will be a significant milestone in the development of next-generation infrastructure for cross-border payments between India and Singapore. It will also closely align with the G20's financial inclusion priorities of driving faster, cheaper and more transparent cross-border payments.

Other countries including Australia, Canada, Hong Kong, Oman, Qatar, USA, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, and the United Kingdom, will also be integrated with the UPI going forward.