- According to a source, talks are going on with Indonesia on real-time settlement and trading in local currencies.
- Two countries are also talking about linking their fast payment systems.
- India and the UAE have signed a MoU to set up a framework to strengthen the use of local currencies.
- New Delhi and France have got into an agreement to use India’s flagship payment system in France.
- Earlier this year, India’s UPI and Singapore’s PayNow signed an agreement to make seamless, real-time, and secure cross-border transactions in both countries.
- India has expanded UPI services in more than a dozen countries across the world. Bhutan was the first to launch BHIM UPI, the Indian government’s digital payment app.
Indian authorities are in talks with their Indonesian counterparts to settle cross-border transactions in local currencies. According to a source aware of developments, India and Indonesia are also talking about linking their fast payment systems. This follows the signing of two Memorandums of Understanding between India and the United Arab Emirates on July 15 to set up a framework to use their respective local currencies to settle bilateral transactions and to link their fast payment systems.
“Like UAE, there are talks going on with Indonesia on something similar: real-time settlement and trading in local currencies,” a source aware of developments said on July 16. “Talks are going on. It will get done soon,” the source added.
Ministerial-level talks between the two countries took place on July 16 in Gandhinagar ahead of the third meeting of G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors, with Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and her Indonesia counterpart Sri Mulyani Indrawati announcing the launch of an Economic and Financial Dialogue between the two countries.
In her remarks, Sri Mulyani Indrawati said the two finance ministers discussed how they could strengthen their bilateral cooperation.
“We also discussed any possibility of cooperation on digital technology, payments systems under the central bank, and using more local currency (for trade),” the Indonesian finance minister said in a joint statement with Sitharaman.
The Prime Minister announced that New Delhi and France have got into an agreement to use India’s flagship payment system in France. Earlier this year, India’s UPI and Singapore’s PayNow signed an agreement to make seamless, real-time, and secure cross-border transactions in both countries. UPI services have already been adopted by UAE, Singapore, Nepal, and Bhutan and NPCI is in talks with the US, Europe, and West Asia to extend it.
India continues to use US dollars to pay for the majority of its oil imports from Russia with only a small portion being paid in a mix of currencies, including dirhams and the Chinese Yuan, A leading news platform reported on July 14 quoting a government source.
India and the UAE have signed a MoU to set up a framework to strengthen the use of local currencies. “The MoU covers all current account transactions and permitted capital account transactions,” the Indian central bank stated in a statement.
India has expanded UPI services in more than a dozen countries across the world. Bhutan was the first to launch BHIM UPI, the Indian government’s digital payment app, in July 2021. The same year, Malaysia’s Merchantrade Asia partnered with NPCI International to permit real-time remittances to India through UPI. In March last year, Nepal adopted UPI for digital transactions, becoming the first foreign country to do so. NPCI’s international arm, NIPL, has joined hands with Liquid Group, to facilitate UPI QR-based payments in 10 markets across North Asia and Southeast Asia, including Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Philippines, Vietnam, Cambodia, Hong Kong, Taiwan, South Korea, and Japan, reported a leading news agency.
(With inputs from agencies)
