The countries are looking to add more banks to the digital payments link, expanding the number of banks to 14 from the present six that can receive remittances from Singapore.

One of the two people aware of the development said at least eight Indian banks would be added to receive remittances from Singapore, which would be a step up from the bilateral tie-up earlier this year. In February, both countries announced the payments platform linkage to ease the flow of remittances.

According to the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI), the six Indian banks participating in the scheme are Axis Bank, DBS Bank India, ICICI Bank, Indian Bank, Indian Overseas Bank and State Bank of India.

All six can receive remittances from Singapore through the linkage. With the exception of Axis Bank and DBS Bank, the other four can also send remittances through the linkage.

Queries to the ministry of finance and NPCI did not elicit a response.

“The linkage provides a convenient (24/7), real-time, secure, and cost-effective means for customers of participating banks and non-bank financial institutions (NFIs) to transfer funds across borders. An Indian UPI user (who is a participant in the linkage) will be able to send money to a user of Singapore’s PayNow member (who is a participant in the UPI-PayNow linkage) using the Singapore user’s mobile number or Virtual Payment Address (VPA),” reads the website of NPCI.

“Conversely, a user of Singapore’s PayNow will be able to send money to an Indian UPI user using the Indian User UPI ID,” the website said.

These moves come in the backdrop of India’s larger UPI export strategy.

Ritesh Shukla, the chief executive officer of NPCI International Payments, told Mint that the number of countries where UPI is live is expected to double within the next 12-18 months.

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Updated: 18 Oct 2023, 09:52 PM IST