India to help countries in Africa and South America to develop UPI-like digital payment systems

Ritesh Shukla, CEO of NPCI International Payments Ltd (NIPL), the overseas arm of the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI), stated the organisation is negotiating with "several countries" and nearing an agreement with one of them, according to the report.

The NPCI, a public non-profit organization responsible for retail payment systems in India and operating under the central bank, runs UPI, the country’s leading digital payment method.

In August, UPI's monthly transaction volume saw a 41% increase, reaching nearly 15 billion transactions.

NIPL, created to promote Indian payment systems abroad, has reportedly engaged in talks with at least 20 countries across Africa and South America to help them implement UPI-like systems, the report said, citing a source with knowledge of the discussions.

Earlier this year, NIPL signed agreements with the central banks of Peru and Namibia to assist in building real-time payment systems modelled after UPI.

According to Shukla, these countries are expected to launch their systems by late 2026 or early 2027, the report said.

A second source familiar with the matter disclosed that "Rwanda is the only country where serious discussions have occurred."

Shukla declined to reveal how many countries NIPL is in talks with or whether Rwanda is part of those discussions, the report said.

Besides aiding countries in building payment systems, NIPL is also focused on linking UPI with other nations’ real-time payment systems, such as Singapore's PayNow. Shukla noted that there are already seven such connections, with "several more in the pipeline," though he did not provide further details.

Looking ahead, NIPL plans to expand its 60-member team by March 2025, with the goal of increasing its overseas presence beyond its current executives stationed in Singapore and the Middle East, Shukla said.