RBI, NIPL Working to Expand UPI to 20 Countries by 2028-29: RBI Annual Report

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) along with NPCI international payments ltd (NIPL) will work towards taking UPI to 20 countries by FY29. RBI Annual report says possibilities will be explored for increasing the global footprints of UPI and RuPay.

"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 said.

The RBI report further adds "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".

The Payments Vision Document 2025 of RBI has outlined expanding the global outreach of UPI and RuPay cards as one of the key objectives under the internationalisation pillar. The Reserve Bank is in talks with central banks of various countries for entering into collaborative arrangements.

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. With this connectivity, an Indian traveller to Mauritius will be able to pay a merchant in Mauritius using UPI apps. Similarly, a Mauritian traveller will be able to do the same in India using the instant payment system apps of Mauritius

In February 2024, UPI connectivity between India and Sri Lanka was launched. This connectivity has enabled Indian travellers to make QR code-based payments at merchant locations in Sri Lanka using UPI apps.

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.

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