India and Singapore launch joint digital payment mechanism

India and Singapore have launched a joint digital payment mechanism enabling residents of both the countries to make easy and faster cross-border transactions.

Unified Payments Interface (UPI) of India and PayNow of Singapore have made a tie-up to facilitate these transactions.

The facility was jointly launched by Reserve Bank of India Governor Shaktikanta Das and Managing Director of the Monetary Authority of Singapore Ravi Menon today.

Terming this launch a gift for the residents of both the countries, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said, this will add a new chapter in fintech connectivity.

He said, now people can transfer money with their mobile phones in a cost effective, swift and faster manner.

He added that professionals, students among others will benefit with this payment mechanism.

Highlighting India's growth in the digital and fintech space, the Prime Minister said, Digital India has facilitated Ease of Living and Ease of Doing Business in the country.

He said, this has also helped in improving governance and public service delivery mechanisms.

He said, money was transferred directly in the bank accounts of the citizens during the Covid pandemic.

He said, India has become a leading country in the digital payment sector now and UPI has emerged as the favourite payment option in the country.

He said, over 7 thousand 400 crore UPI transactions worth 126 lakh crore rupees were made during the past year.

Prime Minister of Singapore Lee Hsien Loong appreciated the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi saying that the idea was first conceived when PM Modi visited Singapore in 2018. He expressed happiness that the linkage of two payment systems has become a reality now. Terming this as another step forward in the direction of ease of financial transaction, he said, it offers economical, faster and convenient money transfer which will contribute in improving trade between the two countries.