RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das expresses optimism for UPI’s global expansion, says plans to ‘internationalise in future’

Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor Shaktikanta Das expressed optimism about the future growth and global expansion of the Unified Payments Interface (UPI) during a recent press briefing. Das, who is currently on a five-day visit to a state, highlighted the ongoing discussions with several countries to extend UPI's reach through QR codes and fast payment system linkages.

"We expect this to grow further at the global level and internationalise in future," Das stated on Friday.

Earlier in the week, speaking at an event in Mumbai, Das noted that significant progress has already been made in promoting UPI and RuPay cards internationally. He pointed out that countries such as Bhutan, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Singapore, the UAE, Mauritius, Namibia, Peru, and France have already begun accepting payments through the UPI network and RuPay cards.

Das emphasized that these developments reflect the collaborative efforts aimed at global adoption of India's digital payment initiatives.

On August 26, Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor Shaktikanta Das revealed plans to launch the ‘Unified Lending Interface’ (ULI) technology platform across India. Initially introduced as a pilot project last year, the platform is set to provide “frictionless credit” on a national scale.

Speaking at the Global Conference on Digital Public Infrastructure and Emerging Technologies in Bengaluru, Das highlighted the transformative potential of ULI, comparing its impact to that of the Unified Payments Interface (UPI) in the payments sector. “Just like UPI transformed the payments ecosystem, we expect that ULI will play a similar role in transforming the lending space in India. The ‘new trinity’ of JAM-UPI-ULI will be a revolutionary step forward in India's digital infrastructure journey,” he said, as reported by ANI.

The ULI platform is designed to simplify the credit appraisal process, especially for small and rural borrowers. It facilitates the seamless, consent-based exchange of digital information, such as land records from various states, between data service providers and lenders, significantly speeding up credit approvals.