Bhutan became the first country to adopt India’s Unified Payment Interface (UPI) standards for its Quick Response Code (QR). It is also the second country after Singapore to accept BHIM-UPI at merchants, NPCI International Payments Ltd (NIPL) said on Tuesday.
NPCI is an umbrella organization for the operation of retail payment and settlement systems in India, it is an initiative of the Reserve Bank of India and the Association of Indian Banks to create a payment infrastructure and robust settlement in India.
Speaking at the virtual launch of BHIM-UPI in Bhutan, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said it would help Indian tourists to visit “the land of happiness”. “BHIM-UPI is one of India’s fintech achievements,†she said on the occasion. Over 200,000 Indian tourists visit Bhutan each year.
Bharat Interface for Money (BHIM) is India’s digital payment application (app) that works through UPI, a system that feeds multiple bank accounts into one mobile app.
During the lockdown due to the Covid-19 pandemic, BHIM-UPI became an ‘efficient mechanism’ for payment, and in 2020-21 it processed 22 billion financial transactions worth ₹41 lakh crore, she said. India has experienced a strict 68-day national lockdown since March 25, 2020 to contain the spread of the first wave of the pandemic.
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“It’s a proud product from India that we share with Bhutan today,†Sitharaman said. Unified Payments Interface (UPI) is a real-time instant payment system, allowing users to transfer money in real time, to multiple bank accounts without revealing their bank account details to the other party.
The payment system was launched by NIPL, the international arm of the National Payment Corporation of India (NPCI), in partnership with the Royal Monetary Authority (RMA) of Bhutan. Bhutan Finance Minister Lyonpo Namgay Tshering was present at the virtual ceremony.
Collaboration between NIPL and RMA will allow acceptance of UPI based BHIM application in Bhutan. “RMA will ensure that the participating NPCI mobile application via UPI QR transactions is accepted by all merchants acquired by RMA in Bhutan,†NIPL said in a statement.
With this launch, Bhutan becomes the first country to adopt UPI standards for its QR deployment, he said. “Bhutan will also become the only country to issue and accept RuPay cards as well as accept BHIM-UPI,” he added.
“The simple, secure and cost-effective mobile payment system has become one of the most important forms of digital payments. In 2020, UPI enabled trade worth $ 457 billion, which is equivalent to around 15% of India’s GDP [gross domestic product], “It said.
“Our vision has always been focused on bringing our robust and popular payment solutions to global markets,†said Ritesh Shukla, CEO of NIPL.
This strategic partnership with Bhutan in the area of ​​digital payments will not only improve the ease of transactions for Indian travelers in Bhutan, but also add value to the lives of customers in Bhutan, he added.
