New Delhi, Dec 26 India has strengthened its leadership role in digital payments, with the DIGIDHAN Mission driving the consistent growth in transactions that have surged to an unprecedented 223 lakh crore from January to November 2024, according to the Finance Ministry's year-end review.
BHIM-UPI has recorded over 15,547 crore transactions during the January-November phase this year, underscoring its role as a key enabler of India’s digital economy, the statement said.
The important developments during the year include Google Pay India signing a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) International for Global Expansion of Unified Payments Interface (UPI).
This has led to UPI now being accepted in France after already being in use for cross-border transactions with Sri Lanka and Nepal, where UPI merchant transactions have surpassed the 100,000 mark.
RuPay Credit & Debit Cardholders can now avail 25 per cent cashback on in-store purchases in Canada, Japan, Spain, Switzerland, United Arab Emirates, the UK and the US.
The review highlights that NPCI International is spreading its footprint globally through various partnerships with banks in other countries.
These include a tie-up with Bank of Namibia for deploying India’s UPI Stack in Namibia.
Besides, NPCI International and the Central Reserve Bank of Peru partner to develop UPI-like real-time payments system in Peru.
NPCI International has partnered with Network International to enable UPI QR (Quick Response) payment acceptance across its merchants in the UAE. It has also tied up with Qatar National Bank (QNB) to launch UPI Payments in Qatar.
NPCI International and Eurobank have also signed an MoU in view of forming a strategic alliance on Foreign Inward Remittances (FIR).
"UPI One World" wallet service extends to all inbound international travellers, which is helping to spread its outreach.
On the domestic front, BOBCARD Limited has also launched a Corporate Credit Card on RuPay Network. NPCI Bharat BillPay has partnered with State Bank of India (SBI) to introduce National Common Mobility Card (NCMC) recharge as a new biller category.
The review also lists key digital payment initiatives at Global Fintech Festival 2024, which include:
* Bharat BillPay for Business (Business to Business (B2B) Platforms): The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor announced the expansion of Bharat Bill Payment System (BBPS) services to cater to business enablement platforms, streamlining B2B payments and collections. This development is expected to change the landscape of business payments across the country through a single, centralized, interoperable platform.
* UPI Circle (Delegate Payments): UPI Circle is a feature enabling UPI users to act as a primary user linking with trusted secondary users on the UPI app for either partial or full delegation of payments. In full delegation, the primary user authorizes a trusted secondary user to initiate and complete UPI transactions as per defined spending limits.
* Bharat Interface for Money (BHIM) to Empower Artisans under PM Vishwakarma Scheme through e-RUPI Vouchers.
* NPCI International to develop UPI-like Real-Time Payments Platform in Trinidad and Tobago.
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