'Cheaper, faster, safer': India, Singapore launch real-time payments link

First such collaboration for India; UPI-PayNow linkage world's first to feature cloud-based infrastructure

In the first such collaboration for India, the country’s flagship payments platform, the Unified Payments Interface (UPI), and Singapore’s PayNow payment system have launched a real-time cross-border payment linkage system.

The linkage, which was launched by Prime Minister (PM) Narendra Modi and Singapore’s PM Lee Hsien Loong on Tuesday, was kicked off by a live cross-border transaction between Reserve Bank of India Governor Shaktikanta Das and Monetary Authority of Singapore Managing Director Ravi Menon, using mobile phones.
 

The linkage will enable users to transfer funds held in bank accounts or e-wallets to and from India using only the UPI ID, mobile