New Delhi: PhonePe, Paytm, and BHIM (Bharat Interface for Money) have officially launched cross-border linkage through India’s Unified Payments Interface (UPI) and Singapore’s PayNow. This collaboration, announced by the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI), enables users to seamlessly transfer funds from Singapore to their Indian bank accounts using UPI.
The live integration extends beyond popular apps to include leading banks such as Axis Bank, DBS Bank India, ICICI Bank, Indian Bank, Indian Overseas Bank and State Bank of India. Through their respective banking applications, these institutions offer the same service, with more banks like Bank of Baroda, Federal Bank, HDFC Bank, IDFC First Bank, and IndusInd Bank set to join the cross-border linkage in the near future.
NPCI highlighted that this interoperability was achieved through the collaboration between the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS). This strategic partnership aims to facilitate an instantaneous, secure, and cost-effective fund transfer mechanism between the two countries, closely mirroring the user experience of UPI for domestic transactions. The feature primarily benefits the Indian diaspora in Singapore, streamlining their ability to send funds directly to their Indian bank accounts.