The cross-border linkage between the Unified Payments Interface (UPI) of India and PayNow of Singapore was virtually launched on Monday in presence of Prime Ministers Narendra Modi and Lee Hsien Loong of Singapore. The cross-border link was introduced by Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) managing director Ravi Menon and Reserve Bank of India (RBI) governor Shaktikanta Das.
With the Real-Time payment Systems Linkage, customers of participating banks from both countries will be able to send cross-border remittances more conveniently, quickly, and securely. According to RBI, only the UPI ID registered with the same bank where the account is held can only be used for receiving remittances.
UPI emerged as the most popular payment method in India with 74 billion transactions totalling more than Rs126 trillion in 2022.
How much money can you send or receive daily?
Customers of the participating banks can undertake cross-border remittances to Singapore using the bank’s mobile banking app/internet banking.
To begin with, an Indian user is allowed to remit up to Rs 60,000 (SGD 1000) in a day. The system will dynamically calculate and display the amount in both the currencies for convenience of the user at the time of the transaction, the RBI said.
List of Participating Banks
State Bank of India, Indian Overseas Bank, Indian Bank, and ICICI Bank will facilitate both inward and outward remittances, according to the RBI. Axis Bank and DBS India will facilitate inward remittances (from Singapore to India). For Singapore users, the service will be made available through DBS-Singapore and Liquid Group (a non-bank financial institution).
Banks for receiving remittances through the UPI-PayNow interlinkage
Axis Bank
DBS Bank India
ICICI Bank
Indian Bank
Indian Overseas Bank
State Bank of India
Banks enabled for sending remittances through the UPI-PayNow interlinkage
ICICI Bank
Indian Bank
Indian Overseas Bank
State Bank of India
The above is an initial list of participating banks. Soon, more banks are expected to be in the UPI-PayNow linkage.
How much time transactions will take?
The transactions will be completed within a minute. The RBI said, “The transactions through UPI-PayNow interlinkage can be carried out with ease similar to how the domestic transactions through UPI or PayNow take place, and the transaction can be completed within a minute.”
What is the limit to sending money?
The Liberalised Remittance Scheme (LRS) limit will apply to this interlinkage while sending remittances from India.
“In the UPI-PayNow interlinkage transactions, only person-to-person (P2P) remittances towards the purpose of ‘Maintenance of Relatives Abroad’ & ‘Gift’ under the Liberalised Remittance Scheme (LRS) are allowed, and the prescribed LRS limits would be applicable,” RBI said.