India and Singapore link UPI and PayNow to boost cross border payments

By Leandra Monteiro

Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi along with the Prime Minister of Singapore, Lee Hsien Loong recently launched the cross-border payment linkage between India and Singapore using both the countries’ Fast Payment Systems, Unified Payments Interface (UPI) and PayNow.

Initiating the process, Shri Shaktikanta Das, Governor of Reserve Bank of India and Mr. Ravi Menon, Managing Director, Monetary Authority of Singapore made live cross-border transactions with each other using their respective mobile phones.

To start with, an Indian user can remit up to INR 60,000 in a day equivalent to around SGD 1,000. At the time of making the transaction, the system will automatically calculate and display the amount in both the currencies for convenience of the user.

Singapore is the first country with which cross border Person to Person (P2P) payment facility has been launched. This will help the Indian diaspora in Singapore, especially migrant workers/students, and bring the benefits of digitalisation and FinTech to the common man through the instantaneous and low-cost transfer of money from Singapore to India and vice-versa. Acceptance of UPI payments through QR codes is already available in selected merchant outlets in Singapore.