Transferring money to Singapore from India is set to become easier and simpler. A cross-border connectivity between the Unified Payments Interface (UPI) of India and PayNow of Singapore was launched on February 21, 2023. The integration of these two payment systems would allow residents of both countries to send cross-border remittances more quickly and in a cost-effective manner.

UPI and PayNow linkage will make movement of funds between India and Singapore easier.

Axis Bank, India’s third largest private sector bank, has successfully enabled cross-border transactions in real-time via the UPI Network. Axis Bank will act as the settlement bank for P2P foreign inward remittance transactions initiated through PayNow by the Liquid Group in Singapore. A remitter in Singapore using the mobile application of Liquid Group can now initiate a remittance by entering the UPI ID of the intended recipient in India. The partnership will allow users from both countries to make seamless money transfers. The transactions settled through the UPI PayNow network are available 24X7 on a real-time basis. Currently, Axis Bank will settle these transactions to beneficiaries holding an account with or are registered on the UPI App of the six banks – SBI, IOB, Indian Bank, ICICI, DBS and Axis Bank.

Sanjeev Moghe, President & Head Cards and Payments, Axis Bank, says, “There is no doubt that this is a milestone moment for cross border transfers. We all know how UPI revolutionized domestic payments and we are now going to see a similar revolution in the cross-border payments space as well.”

While sending funds abroad, RBI’s Liberalised Remittance Scheme (LRS) rules come into play. So, if you want to buy international stocks through Singapore brokerage platforms, go on a vacation to Singapore or send money to children there, LRS rules will be applicable in each instance. Currently, under the LRS rules, any resident individual including a minor ( countersigned by a guardian) is allowed to remit up to 2.5 lakh US dollars (USD 2,50,000 ) in each financial year. At an exchange rate of Rs 81 to a dollar, it is about Rs 2,00,00,000 or Rs 2 crore.

Also Read: How to invest in Nasdaq 100 stocks without opening an international trading account

It will also benefit the Indian diaspora in Singapore, particularly migrant workers and students, by enabling instant and low-cost money transfers from Singapore to India and vice versa.

DBS Bank is the first and only participating bank from Singapore. PayNow-UPI will be progressively rolled out to familiarise DBS customers with the new service. For a start, selected DBS customers can use PayNow-UPI to transfer funds of up to SGD200 per transaction, capped at SGD500 per day. By 31 March 2023, the service will be extended to all customers who can transfer funds of up to SGD1,000 a day.

Shee Tse Koon, Singapore Country Head, DBS Bank, says, “As the world becomes increasingly globalised and interconnected, we believe in collectively harnessing technology to expand access to fast and seamless cross-border payment services. With India being one of DBS’ biggest markets for overseas remittances, this is a welcome addition to our wide-ranging suite of payment solutions for SMEs, retail customers and especially migrant workers, who now have another convenient option to send money to their loved ones back home.”