NPCI, Bank of Namibia ink an agreement to develop UPI-like system

NPCI International Payments Limited (NIPL), the international arm of the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI), on Thursday entered into an agreement with the Bank of Namibia (BoN) for developing an instant payment system like Unified Payment Interface (UPI) for the African nation.

This partnership marks NPCI’s first-ever collaboration with a central bank to deploy the UPI stack in an international market.

The collaboration is aimed at developing real-time person-to-person (P2P) and person-to-merchant (P2M) transactions in Namibia.

“Through this collaboration, BoN will gain access to best-in-class technology and insights from NIPL, enabling the creation of a similar platform in Namibia for the digital welfare of its citizens,” NIPL said in a release.

The agreement aims at improving accessibility, affordability, connectivity with both domestic and international payment networks, and interoperability of payments.

“By enabling this technology, the country will gain sovereignty in the digital payments landscape and stand to benefit from enhanced payment interoperability and improved financial access for underserved populations. This will also ensure scalability and adaptability to embrace future technological advancements and market demands, thereby propelling economic prosperity in the region,” said Ritesh Shukla, chief executive officer (CEO), NPCI International.

The development follows NPCI’s push to take UPI rails international after breaking into other markets such as France, Sri Lanka, Singapore, and Mauritius.

In January 2024, NPCI announced the launch of the UPI-PayNow linkage that enables Indians to receive remittances directly into their bank accounts from Singapore and vice-versa.

In February this year, it announced a partnership with e-commerce and proximity payments company Lyra, to enable UPI acceptance in France.

The same month, UPI services were rolled out in Sri Lanka and Mauritius.