International push for India's Unified Payment Interface (UPI)

A recent report based on the data provided by RBI and NPCI showed that the 'UPI real-time mobile based payment system' handled 459K Lakh transactions in 2021-22, besting the second highest used mechanism of e-wallets (with 65K Lakh transactions) by a factor of 7! This speaks volumes of how the digital payments landscape has had a fundamental shift in the past few years within India. Now as the below given article from Swarajya magazine points out, the UPI system is expanding into the international / cross-border payment transactions. Merchants in countries such as Bhutan, Cambodia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, UAE and Vietnam now accept UPI payments. Not only this, the technological backbone / framework underlying the UPI system is also serving as a template for other countries to roll out similar setups to promote adoption of digital payment methods in their regions.

As a big fan of using the UPI powered BHIM app, I see the immense benefits this digital mode of payment is bringing about. Creditors when paid through UPI, get their dues settled on a real-time basis 24 7 365. Up until the payment is made, the money sits in one's bank account earning interest. Plus the convenience and freedom of just carrying one's mobile around to engage in commercial transactions is definitely liberating. Especially for the ones, who have stood in ATM queues in the past or those who had to lug around wad of notes while constantly worrying about its security :-)

UPI: Made In India Payment System Is A Runaway Success That 10 Nations Are Trying Out (swarajyamag.com)