New Delhi, July 1 (IANS). Taking a major step towards making international digital payments more easy and transparent for Indian travellers, National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) on Wednesday announced a strategic partnership with HSBC India. Under this partnership, real-time foreign exchange (Forex) settlement facility will now be available for cross-border Unified Payments Interface (UPI) transactions.
Under this partnership, HSBC India will provide real-time forex rates through direct API integration, allowing customers to see the amount to be paid in Indian Rupees (INR) at the time of making purchases abroad.
According to NPCI, this initiative will make international UPI payments more transparent and faster. This will enable merchants and financial institutions located abroad to receive payments in their local currency, while Indian customers will get the benefit of accurate exchange rates.
This partnership will increase the efficiency of cross-border payment systems and also accelerate the adoption of India’s digital payments ecosystem across the world.
NPCI spokesperson said this partnership with HSBC is an important step towards providing efficient foreign exchange conversion and real-time settlement for cross-border payments.
He said that this will provide customers with a more transparent payment experience and make international payments more convenient than before. It will also help in gaining global acceptance of India’s digital public infrastructure.
This API-based arrangement, backed by HSBC India’s global payments network and international capabilities, will ensure secure and fast cross-border payments around the clock. This will make international UPI transactions faster, simpler and more reliable than before.
Currently the Indian UPI service is available in a total of nine countries including Singapore, United Arab Emirates (UAE), Nepal, Bhutan, Mauritius, France, Sri Lanka, Qatar and Cambodia. Indian customers in these countries can make payments in rupees directly from their domestic bank accounts by scanning the QR code.
NPCI is the premier institute for retail digital payment system in India. It has developed many important digital payment services like UPI, RuPay, IMPS, NACH, NETC, AEPS and eRUPI. This institution works under the guidance of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and the Indian Banks Association (IBA).
–IANS
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