Cross border money transfer between India and Singapore was made convenient and faster on Tuesday as India's Unified Payment Interface (UPI) was formally connected to Singapore’s PayNow.
It was launched by the Governor of Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Shaktikanta Das in the presence of Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi and his Singaporean counterpart Lee Hsien Loong.
Soon after the launch, a token transaction was carried out between Shaktikanta Das and Monetary Authority of Singapore Ravi Menon.
With the launch, now it is possible to send money from India to Singapore, and vice versa, through mobile applications. This is seen as a key milestone for India’s fintech infrastructure and will bring down the remittance cost between the two Asian nations.
The money kept in mobile wallets can be sent to a fellow user in Singapore. It is, however, important to note that the transaction is possible through UPI and PayNow.
At the outset, users from India can transfer a maximum of ₹60,000 in a day (which is equivalent to SGD 1,000). While transferring the money, the system is equipped to calculate the amount in both the currencies.
Although more banks will be included in the linkage at a later stage, six Indian banks are roped in as of now. These banks are SBI, Indian Overseas Bank, Indian Bank, ICICI Bank, Axis Bank and DBS Bank.
This interlinkage is the outcome of G20’s priorities of financial inclusion that include faster, cheaper and transparent overseas payments. This is seen as a key milestone in the development of infrastructure for cross-border payments between India and Singapore.
Also, this was made possible as a result of extensive collaboration between Reserve Bank of India (RBI), Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), and Payment System Operators of both countries i.e., NPCI International Payments Limited (NIPL) and Banking Computer Services Pte Ltd. (BCS), and participating banks and non-bank financial institution.
A similar integration and interoperability is also likely to happen with Dubai and a few other countries soon.
