- India
- Jun 04
- Sreesha V.M
NPCI International, ACLEDA Bank launch cross-border UPI payments in Cambodia
• NPCI International Payments Limited, the international arm of the National Payments Corporation of India, has officially partnered with ACLEDA Bank Plc to launch Unified Payments Interface (UPI) acceptance in Cambodia.
• The first phase enables millions of Indian travellers to make seamless QR payments at over 4.5 million Cambodian merchants, with a two-way corridor to follow.
• In the subsequent phase, the corridor will become fully bi-directional.
• Cambodian citizens visiting India will soon be able to use their domestic banking and digital payment applications to scan millions of UPI QR codes across the country, completing a highly advanced, two-way interoperable financial network through Bakong’s KHQR.
• Currently, UPI is accepted in eight countries — Singapore, the United Arab Emirates, France, Mauritius, Nepal, Bhutan, Qatar and Sri Lanka — enabling Indian travellers to make seamless payments abroad through familiar platforms.
National Payments Corporation of India
• National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) was incorporated in 2008 as an umbrella organisation for operating retail payments and settlement systems in India.
• It is an initiative of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and Indian Banks’ Association (IBA) under the provisions of the Payment and Settlement Systems Act, 2007, for creating a robust Payment & Settlement Infrastructure in India.
• Considering the utility nature of the objects of NPCI, it has been incorporated as a not-for-profit company, with an intention to provide infrastructure to the entire banking system in India for physical as well as electronic payment and settlement systems.
• The company is focused on bringing innovations in the retail payment systems through the use of technology for achieving greater efficiency in operations and widening the reach of payment systems.
• NPCI is focused on bringing innovations in the retail payment systems through the use of technology and is working to transform India into a digital economy. It is facilitating secure payment solutions with nationwide accessibility at minimal cost in furtherance of India’s aspiration to be a fully digital society.
• NPCI International Payments Limited (NIPL) was incorporated on April 3, 2020, as a wholly-owned subsidiary of NPCI. As the international arm of NPCI, NIPL is devoted for deployment of NPCI’s indigenous, successful real-time payment system — UPI, and card scheme – RuPay, outside of India.
(The author is a trainer for Civil Services aspirants.)