UPI set to interlink with European instant payment system TIPS: RBI

UPI will be linked with Europe's tips system to enable faster, low-cost cross-border payments between India and the Euro area, with RBI and ECB starting work on technical integration

India’s real-time payments rails Unified Payments Interface (UPI) will be interlinked with TARGET Instant Payment Settlement (TIPS), the instant payment system operated by the Eurosystem, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) said on Friday.

  The UPI–TIPS interlinkage is aimed at facilitating cross-border remittances between India and the Euro Area and is expected to benefit users of both jurisdictions.

 

RBI, along with NPCI International Payments (NIPL), was engaging with the European Central Bank on the initiative to connect UPI with TIPS.

 

“Following constructive and sustained engagement, both sides have agreed to start the realisation phase for the UPI–TIPS link,” RBI said in a statement. 

RBI, along with NIPL, is expected to collaborate with the European Central Bank to operationalise the UPI–TIPS link, including technical integration, risk management and settlement arrangements.

 

NIPL, the wholly owned subsidiary of the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI), is tasked with deploying home-grown payments systems such as UPI and the RuPay card scheme overseas.

 

NPCI operates UPI in the country.

 

Acceptance of UPI as a payment method for Indian tourists has been enabled in countries such as Singapore, Bhutan, Nepal, Sri Lanka, the United Arab Emirates, Mauritius, Qatar and France.

 

There are more than two million international merchants taken on board to enable UPI acceptance, according to NIPL data.

 

NIPL is supporting countries such as Namibia, Trinidad and Tobago and Peru to develop a system similar to UPI.

 

The Indian government is in talks with at least seven-eight more countries to expand the reach of UPI beyond its borders so that domestic travellers can use the payment service, said M Nagaraju, secretary, Department of Financial Services, Ministry of Finance, this week.

 

UPI clocked its highest-ever numbers in volume and value in October, with 20.7 billion transactions worth ₹27.28 trillion being made during the period, driven by increased business activities due to the festival season, coupled with GST 2.0 reliefs.

 

There are 509 million UPI users in India.