New instant remittance system for NRIs unveiled

Dubai - They will be able to send and receive money instantly using their smartphones.

The National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI), which introduced the Indian alternative payment platform RuPay in the UAE in August, said that it would enable NRI bank account holders to send and receive money instantly from their smartphones without the need to enter bank account information or net banking credentials through a new payments interface.
Praveena Rai, chief operating officer, NPCI, said its Unified Payments Interface is a system that powers multiple bank accounts into a single mobile application (of any participating bank), merging several features, seamless fund routing and merchant payments under one umbrella.
Addressing a press conference, the NPCI official said RuPay and UPI are the pillars of the Indian payment system.
"We have designed this feature for NRIs working outside of India. It enables them to transfer money on a real-time basis through their smartphones, to their family members or any other individuals living in India. The process of receiving money from a foreign country is sometimes time-consuming; through UPI 2.0 the process is made much simpler and quicker now," said Rai.
The UAE, the first country in the Middle East where the RuPay card was launched, is expected to have around 175,000 merchant locations across 21 business houses accepting the card once it is completely operational. Up to 5,000 ATMs in the UAE will accept RuPay card, the Indian alternative payment platform now challenging global payment titans including Visa and MasterCard. Emirates NBD, First Abu Dhabi Bank, and Bank of Baroda are expected to soon start issuing RuPay credit and debit cards in the UAE.
At present, RuPay cards are being issued by over 1,100 plus banks with a customer base of 600 plus million. UPI is becoming a preferred mode of payment for its simple, seamless and secure architecture and is witnessing a growing support from consumers, banks, fintech and other ecosystem players in the country, Rai said, adding the UAE is one of its strategic international growth markets for RuPay,
Currently, India is UAE's largest trading partner, while the UAE is India's third largest trading partner. Several UAE companies have invested in India in 2018, and the bilateral trade between the two countries is on track to surpass $100 billion by 2020. According to the data collated by the UAE Central Bank, India received a total of Dh13.6 billion worth of cash sent through exchange houses and banks during the fourth quarter of 2018.
issacjohn@khaleejtimes.com