Our Bureau
New Delhi
India’s Unified Payments Interface (UPI) is set to be interlinked with Europe’s TARGET Instant Payment Settlement (TIPS) system, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) announced on Friday, in a major move to facilitate low-cost, real-time cross-border remittances between India and the Euro Area. The RBI, along with NPCI International Payments Ltd. (NIPL) and the European Central Bank, will now begin the realisation phase of the UPI–TIPS integration, covering technical, risk management and settlement processes.
The collaboration, born from extensive engagement between the RBI and European authorities, is expected to significantly benefit users in both jurisdictions by enabling swift international fund transfers and remittance services. UPI, operated by NPCI in India and adopted by over 509 million users, saw transaction volumes reach a record 20.7 billion in October, valued at ₹27.28 trillion—a testament to its rising domestic popularity and growing international footprint.
With UPI already accepted in countries such as Singapore, Bhutan, Nepal, Sri Lanka, the UAE, Mauritius, Qatar and France, the new interlinkage marks another milestone in India’s efforts to globalise its homegrown payment system. More than two million international merchants currently accept UPI, while NIPL is also aiding countries like Namibia, Trinidad and Tobago, and Peru to develop similar platforms.
According to M Nagaraju, Secretary at the Department of Financial Services, India is in talks with seven to eight more countries to expand UPI’s reach, allowing Indian travelers and the diaspora easy access to digital payments. The RBI emphasized that the UPI–TIPS tie-up aligns with the G20 roadmap for cheaper, more effective cross-border remittance corridors and strengthens India’s presence in the evolving landscape of global digital payments.
