India is reportedly in talks with countries in Africa and South America including Namibia and Rwanda to help them build a digital payments system using its homegrown Unified Payments Interface (UPI).
According to a source, the UPI is expected to launch by early 2027.
Details
The overseas arm of the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) is in talks with “several countries” said Ritesh Shukla, CEO of NPCI International Payments Ltd (NIPL).
The NPCI is a quasi-regulator under the central bank and runs UPI, India’s most popular digital payment mode.
Zoom Out
Earlier this year, the NIPL signed deals with the central banks of Peru and Namibia to help them build real-time payment systems similar to UPI.
The two countries are expected to launch their systems by late 2026 or early 2027, NIPL CEO Shukla said.
What They’re Saying
Among the other countries, “Rwanda is the only one with which serious discussions have happened“, according to a second source familiar with the discussions.
Source: Reuters
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