Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday called on the country’s fintech ecosystem to connect the unified payments interface (UPI) with systems in other nations and help lower remittance costs for the diaspora. He also observed that the next chapter for the fintech industry should be beyond payments — in areas such as quality cybersecurity solutions and ethical data protection standards.
Speaking at the inauguration of the 7th edition of the Global Fintech Fest, Modi observed that the focus should be on countries that have large Indian diaspora, are among India’s big trading partners or are willing to partner with the nation while connecting the systems. “This is essential because Indians work in large numbers in foreign countries. They are the largest remitters of money. A part of the remittances goes away as transaction costs; UPI can help in saving on these costs and the money can also reach families faster,” he said.
The Prime Minister said global card payments currently run on systems designed in other countries, but underlined that India now has an alternative. “We can set our own rules and standards and connect them with the world,” Modi said.
Reiterating French President Emmanuel Macron’s words, Modi said UPI is not only a tech story but a civilisational one.