The NPCI Board, with the approval of RBI, has launched NPCI International Payments Limited (NIPL). The NIPL on Thursday said that it partnered with the Bank of Namibia (BoN) to support them in developing a Unified Payment Interface (UPI)-like instant payment system for the country.
The partnership aims to assist Namibia in modernizing its financial ecosystem by leveraging India's UPI technology and experience. This includes improving accessibility, affordability, connectivity with both domestic and international payment networks, and interoperability.
"By enabling this technology, the country will gain sovereignty in the digital payments landscape and stand to benefit from enhanced payment interoperability and improved financial access for underserved populations," Ritesh Shukla, CEO, NPCI International, said in a statement.
NPCI has announced that their collaboration with BoN aims to enhance digital financial services and facilitate real-time Person-to-Person (P2P) and Merchant payment transactions (P2M) in India. This partnership will also enable BoN to access NIPL's advanced technology and insights, which will help create a similar platform in Namibia for the digital welfare of its citizens.
"This endeavour, aligned with the Bank's Strategic Plan and NPS Vision and Strategy 2025, deliberately employs a central bank-led approach to minimize infrastructure costs for financial institutions, thereby ensuring the sustainability and affordability of instant payment solutions for end users," said Johannes Gawaxab, Governor of the Bank of Namibia.
Once operational, the platform will enable digital transactions in Namibia, prompting financial inclusion and reducing cash dependency by catering to underserved populations.
Meanwhile, according to a recent report by the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI), the number of Unified Payments Interface (UPI) transactions fell by 1 percent on a monthly basis, from 1,344 crore seen in March to 1,330 crore in April. However, there was an increase of 50 percent in the transaction count on a year-on-year basis. The transaction volume in April was Rs 19.64 lakh crore, down from Rs 19.78 lakh crore in March, according to data from NPCI. Nevertheless, it witnessed a 40 percent year-on-year growth.
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Inputs from IANS
