Cash payments may soon be surpassed by digital transactions: PM Modi
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New Delhi: Given that the country's most popular payment method is evolving into the Unified Payments Interface (UPI), Prime Minister Narendra Modi voiced hope today that digital transactions will soon overtake cash.
During the inauguration of the cross-border connectivity between the UPI and PayNow of Singapore, PM Modi stated that in 2022, UPI has been used in around 74 billion transactions totalling more than 126 trillion, or roughly 2 trillion Singapore dollars.
"Many experts are estimating that very soon India's digital wallet transactions are going to overtake cash transactions," he said.
A large number of transactions via UPI demonstrate that this indigenously designed payment system is very secure, he said, PTI reported.
PM Modi along with his Singaporean counterpart Lee Hsien Loong witnessed the launch of cross-border connectivity between the UPI and PayNow of Singapore via video conferencing.
The first transaction was done by Reserve Bank of India Governor Shaktikanta Das and Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) managing director Ravi Menon.
The linkage of these two payment systems would enable residents of both countries in faster and cost-efficient transfer of cross-border remittances.
It will also help the Indian diaspora in Singapore, especially migrant workers and students, through instantaneous and low-cost transfer of money from Singapore to India and vice-versa.
India has emerged as one of the fastest-growing ecosystems for fintech innovation.
A key emphasis of the Prime Minister has been on ensuring that the benefits of UPI are not limited to India only but extend to other countries as well.