UPI-ng the ante: PM Modi wants desi connect with global pay

MUMBAI: PM Narendra Modi Tuesday called for India to set its own standards and protocols for cross-border payments and directly integrate its payment system with countries where Indian diaspora populations are large and trade volumes significant.He said India now had a sovereign alternative to the foreign standards under-pinning the existing card-payment architecture and could connect it with the global financial system.Modi said the move could also reduce the cost of remittances, noting that Indians abroad send the largest volume of money home globally but lose a notable portion to transaction fees. “UPI can deliver substantial savings here as well, allowing funds to reach Indian families far more rapidly,” he said.His remarks came ahead of the Brics summit, where expanding national and local currency trade is a priority. A proposal seeks to enable retail and trade-settlement interoperability between fast-payment systems by linking UPI with similar networks in other countries.