Axis Bank has enabled cross-border transactions in real-time via the UPI Network following the move by India and Singapore to link their quick payment systems, Unified Payments Interface (UPI) and PayNow, easing the process of fund transfers between individuals in the two Asian nations.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong virtually launched this cross-border connectivity on Tuesday.
Axis Bank will act as the settlement bank for peer-to-peer foreign inward remittance transactions initiated through PayNow by the Liquid Group in Singapore. A remitter in Singapore using the mobile application of Liquid Group can initiate a remittance by entering the UPI ID of the intended recipient in India.
The partnership will allow users from both countries to make seamless money transfers. The transactions settled through the UPI PayNow network are available 24X7 on a real-time basis. Currently, Axis Bank will settle these transactions to beneficiaries holding an account with or are registered on the UPI App of the six banks – SBI, IOB, Indian Bank, ICICI, DBS and Axis Bank, as per the press release.
“We are delighted to collaborate with Axis Bank to offer a robust and simplified cross-border remittance experience using UPI. At NIPL, we aim to facilitate the establishment of new payment infrastructure around the world while enhancing the consumer experience. We are confident that this partnership will play an important role in driving our vision of scaling globally thereby taking India’s digital payment solutions to the world,” Rina Penkar, head – Product Development, NIPL, said.
Sanjeev Moghe, President & Head Cards and Payments, Axis Bank, said, “There is no doubt that this is a milestone moment for cross border transfers. We all know how UPI revolutionized domestic payments and we are now going to see a similar revolution in the cross-border payments space as well.”