NPCI launches international unit to expand reach of UPI

National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) on Wednesday launched its international arm-- NPCI International Payments Ltd -- to expand real-time payment system Unified Payments Interface (UPI) and card payment network RuPay in other countries.

“NIPL is tasked with the responsibility of exporting NPCI’s indigenously developed offerings and technological acumen to foreign markets, thereby revolutionizing the global payments landscape. The primary focus of NIPL would be internationalization of RuPay and UPI, along with a few more offerings of NPCI,” an official statement said.

UPI and RuPay have already marked its presence in Singapore and UAE. UPI The growing popularity of UPI can be attributed to its simple, safe, cost-effective and mobile-based payment system. In July, such payments grew 9% sequentially, clocking 1.49 billion transactions in July, hitting yet another fresh high ever since its launch four years ago. RuPay were launched six years ago to promote the use of electronic payments as well as to expand the idea of financial inclusion. The Prime Minister’s flagship scheme for financial inclusion--Jan Dhan Yojana--gave impetus to the payment scheme as RuPay debit cards were issued to every account opened under the scheme. However, one of the major limitations of RuPay card is its limited international presence.

“NPCI has achieved the pinnacle of success at developing an exemplary robust payments system that is cost effective, secure, convenient and instantaneous. Several nations have displayed an inclination towards establishing a ‘real time payment system’ or ‘domestic card scheme’ inspired by the exemplary innovations by NPCI in the country,” the statement said.

NIPL will be headed by Ritesh Shukla as Chief Executive Officer (CEO). Shukla has over two decades of experience in banking and payments space and was a part of Mastercard’s business in Middle East and North Africa (MENA).

“We are glad to launch our subsidiary – NIPL to take our unique payment system to global markets. It is also a matter of pride for NPCI that several countries such as Asia, Africa and the Middle East have displayed interest towards replicating our model in their own nations,” Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of NPCI Dilip Asbe said.