The Caribbean country of Trinidad and Tobago is currently in the process of integrating a system alike India’s Unified Payments Interface (UPI) into its financial framework. For this the government of the nation has approached India for its technology and expertise of managing one of the world’s largest digital banking system.
A strategic agreement was formed on September 26, 2024, between the Ministry of Digital Transformation (MDT) of Trinidad and Tobago and the regulatory body National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI). The MDT is tasked with creating a real-time payment platform that is similar to India’s UPI.
Why does a Caribbean Country Wants UPI?
The official signing ceremony in Port of Spain was attended by key figures like Dr. Alvin Hilaire, Governor of the Central Bank of Trinidad & Tobago, and Dr. Pradeep Singh Rajpurohit, India’s High Commissioner. This partnership places Trinidad & Tobago among the many countries that have adopted or have shown interest in India’s digital banking system.
This will also enable the Caribbean country to conduct seamless mobile banking transactions, similar to those that take place in India. Additionally, this would allow anyone in the Caribbean nation to start real-time peer-to-peer and peer-to-merchant transactions on a variety of devices.
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Foreign Countries with UPI
Nepal being the first country to accept UPI as a mode of payment in the country, now UPI functions in 7 different countries.
|
Country |
UPI Partnership Status |
|
Trinidad and Tobago |
Latest country to partner with NPCI for UPI |
|
Sri Lanka |
UPI operational |
|
Mauritius |
UPI operational |
|
France |
UPI operational |
|
United Arab Emirates (UAE) |
UPI operational |
|
Singapore |
UPI operational |
|
Bhutan |
UPI operational |
|
Nepal |
UPI operational |
Indians traveling to these countries can use UPI for their digital payments, thus making the stay easier for Indian tourists and businessman in those countries.
Record Transaction through UPI in September!
UPI, the leading digital transaction payment system developed by NPCI sets a new record each month. In September 2024, UPI payments in India achieved an all-time high of Rs 20.64 lakh crore, which is a 31% increase from Rs 15.78 lakh crore in the same month the previous year.
Moreover, the volume of digital transactions grew by 42% year-on-year (YoY), reaching 1,504 crore in September 2024, compared to 1,055 crore in the same month last year. Additionally, the average daily transactions increased to 60 crore in September 2024.
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