India and Russia have recently agreed to enhance cross-border payment options by exploring the mutual acceptance of payment cards, RuPay (India) and Mir (Russia). The Internal Governmental Commission on Trade, Economic, Scientific, Technological, and Cultural Cooperation (IRIGC-TEC), jointly chaired by External Affairs Minister of India S Jaishankar and Russia's Deputy Prime Minister Denis Manturov, has made the decision to facilitate transactions in Indian rupees and Russian rubles for the convenience of both countries' citizens. The adoption of Russia's Services Bureau of Financial Messaging System of the Bank of Russia for cross-border payments is also under consideration, as well as the interaction between India's Unified Payments Interface (UPI) and Russia's Faster Payments System (FPS). With the current sanctions imposed on Russia by the West, it is necessary to explore alternative payment options for overseas payments from India and Russia, which are currently made through the SWIFT network.
In addition to the above, the meeting's participants have also discussed the recent launch of cross-border connectivity between UPI and Singapore's PayNow. This will enable faster and more cost-efficient digital transfers between the two countries, benefiting the Indian diaspora in Singapore, including migrant workers and students. The State Bank of India, Indian Overseas Bank, Indian Bank, and ICICI Bank will facilitate both inward and outward remittances, while Axis Bank and DBS India will only facilitate inward remittances. UPI has become the most popular payment mode for person-to-person and person-to-merchant transactions in India, accounting for 75% of total digital payments since its launch in 2016. The National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI), established in 2008, has built a robust payment and settlement infrastructure in India, enabling transactions through various retail payment products like RuPay card, Immediate Payment Service (IMPS), UPI, Bharat Interface for Money (BHIM), BHIM Aadhaar, National Electronic Toll Collection (NETC Fastag), and Bharat BillPay.