India’s UPI to Launch in Bhutan, BHIM App to Be Accepted within the Country

India’s Unified Payments Interface (UPI) is ready to be embraced by its neighbouring nation Bhutan. NPCI International Payments Limited (NIPL), the worldwide arm of National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI), has come right into a partnership with Bhutan’s central financial institution Royal Monetary Authority (RMA) for enabling QR code-based UPI transactions within the nation. The service will likely be formally launched at present (Tuesday, July 13) and can allow funds by means of the Indian authorities’s BHIM app. With the brand new launch, Bhutan will develop into the primary nation to undertake UPI requirements for its QR deployments. The nation already accepts and points India’s RuPay playing cards.

The launch of BHIM UPI is touted to profit greater than 200,000 Indian vacationers who journey to Bhutan yearly. The RMA will guarantee BHIM app by means of UPI QR transactions is accepted in any respect RMA-acquired retailers in Bhutan, the NPCI mentioned in a press assertion.

“Our imaginative and prescient has at all times been targeted on taking our strong and in style funds options to international markets”, said Ritesh Shukla, CEO, NPCI International Payments Limited (NIPL).

The new experience will be launched by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman at a virtual ceremony that will be attended by her Bhutanese counterpart Lyonpo Namgay Tshering.

Back in December 2016, the government launched the BHIM app in the country as a local solution to enable cashless transactions. It was developed by the NPCI and is based on UPI, which enables e-payments directly through banks.

Shortly after the launch of the BHIM app, the UPI mechanism was adopted by several third parties including Paytm and PhonePe. Apps such as Google Pay (formerly called Google Tez) also debuted with UPI support.

According to NCPI data, as many as 229 banks are now live on UPI, which resulted in a combined transaction volume of 2,807.51 million worth Rs. 5,47,373.17 in June. Walmart-owned PhonePe dominates the market of UPI apps, with a share of over 46 percent. The government’s BHIM app comes sixth. It managed a share of 22.84 percent last month with transactions worth Rs. 7,319.77 crores.

The NPCI said that UPI-enabled commerce was worth $457 billion (roughly Rs. 34,04,000 crores) in 2020, which is equivalent to approximately 15 percent of India’s GDP.