Summary of this article
NIPL and BENEFIT link UPI with Fawri+
Enables instant India-Bahrain cross-border money transfers
Boosts digital payments, transparency, and financial inclusion
India's Unified Payments Interface (UPI) is one step closer to turning into a global digital payment standard. The National Payments Corporation of India's (NPCI) international arm, NPCI International Payments Limited (NIPL), signed an agreement with Bahrain's BENEFIT to make cross-border remittances between the two countries possible in real time.
The partnership will connect India's UPI with Bahrain's EFTS, especially its Fawri+ service that already enables instant local transfers within Bahrain. When in place, the system will enable users in both countries to send and receive money in real time, thus avoiding traditional channels, which are typically more time-consuming and expensive. The system is being supervised by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and the Central Bank of Bahrain (CBB).
Cross-border Collaboration
The move is expected to enhance the experience for users who send money between India and Bahrain on a regular basis. A large segment of Bahrain's population, around 30 percent, comprises Indian residents. The linkage is likely to help this group by reducing the time taken and the cost of the transfers, while bringing improvement in transparency and convenience as well.
NIPL has said that the partnership reflects its focus on expanding UPI's reach to more countries and using technology to make payments faster and more secure. For its part, BENEFIT said the linkage was in line with its efforts to strengthen Bahrain's role within the global digital finance ecosystem. Both organisations see the system as a way toward more integrated financial networks between the two nations.
Improving Existing Infrastructure
Bahrain's BENEFIT operates the country's core payment systems (overseen and regulated by CBB), such as the Fawri+, BenefitPay, and the national eKYC platform. Linkage with UPI builds on this to allow direct connectivity with Indian payment systems. This will enable real-time transfers while keeping intact the present regulatory and security standards.
The project also fits into a wider regional trend in the Gulf region of improving cross-border digital transactions. Many countries have been building real-time payment systems and considering partnerships with India, given UPI’s proven success in managing high transaction volumes securely and efficiently.
A Growing Network of UPI Linkages
NIPL has been forging international tie-ups to make UPI interoperable with systems abroad. Similar collaborations have already been rolled out in Singapore, France, Nepal, Bhutan, Sri Lanka, Cyprus, Mauritius, and the UAE, with others under discussion in several Asian and Middle Eastern countries. These linkages aim to make remittances faster and easier for users overseas and widen the footprint of India's digital payments model.
For India, these initiatives are in tune with the long-term ambition of the central bank to achieve financial inclusion through digital means. The partnership between NIPL and BENEFIT forms an important step in the development of regional payment linkages based on existing national systems, instead of third-party intermediaries.
