Bhutan has become first country to adopt Unified Payment Interface (UPI) standards of India for its quick response (QR) code.
Key Points
- Bhutan after Singapore has become the second country to have BHIM-UPI acceptance at merchant locations.
- International wing of the National Payment Corporation of India (NPCI) called NPCI International Payments Ltd. (NIPL) announced partnership with Royal Monetary Authority (RMA) of Bhutan to implement BHIM UPI QR-based payments in Bhutan.
- Bhutan will also become the only country to issue & accept RuPay cards and accept BHIM-UPI.
Significance of the move
BHIM-UPI is a significant achievement of India in area of fintech. During covid-19 induced lockdown, BHIM-UPI became an effective mechanism of payment. In 2020-21, it processed 22 billion financial transactions of worth rupee 41 lakh crore. In the line, this partnership among NPCI and RMA, is going to benefit 200,000 tourists from India who travel to Bhutan every year.
About NPCI
NPCI is an umbrella organisation involved in operation of retail payments and settlement systems in India. It was launched by Reserve Bank of India and Indian Banks’ Association to create a robust payment and settlement infrastructure.
Bharat Interface for Money (BHIM)
It is an Indian mobile payment App developed by National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI). It is based on Unified Payments Interface (UPI) and named after B. R. Ambedkar. It was launched on December 30, 2016. This app facilitates e-payments directly through banks and supports all Indian banks which use UPI.
About Unified Payments Interface (UPI)
UPI is built over Immediate Payment Service (IMPS) infrastructure that allows user to instantly transfer money in real-time. It allows users to transfer money in multiple bank accounts without revealing bank account details to other party.