UPI payment system
Another major achievement has been added for India on the digital payments front. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has announced that India’s Unified Payments Interface (UPI) will soon be linked to the European Central Bank’s Target Instant Payment Settlement System. With this step, sending and receiving money between India and European countries will become easier, faster and cheaper than ever. Lakhs of Indians, students and workers living in Europe will get direct benefits from this.
What is TIPS?
TIPS is a real-time payment system of the European Central Bank, to which banks from more than 30 countries in Europe are connected. It is considered to be a fast payment network like UPI of Europe. RBI and NPCI International were in talks with the European Central Bank for the last several months to link UPI to TIPS. Now both the parties have agreed to start the implementation phase of UPI-TIPS link.
what will be the benefit
- Remittances between India and Europe will be available immediately.
- Bank charges and forex fees can be quite low.
- Direct benefit to millions of Indians living in Europe.
- Facility for Indian tourists to pay through UPI in many European countries.
UPI is now being accepted in many countries including Singapore, UAE, France, Mauritius, Bhutan, Nepal. Connecting to TIPS, Europe’s largest payment system, will make this digital network even bigger.
Part of the G20 agenda
RBI said that this initiative is linked to the G20 roadmap, which aims to promote cheap, fast and secure cross-border payments across the world. India had emphasized on making UPI global during its G20 presidency. Now its results are visible. RBI, NIPL and European Central Bank will now work on technical integration, risk management and settlement systems so that UPI-TIPS interlinking can be started soon.