New Delhi, July 16 (IANS) NPCI International Payments Limited (NIPL), the international arm of National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI), on Wednesday enhanced the UPI-PayNow real-time payment linkage by adding 13 more banks on the platform, extending its reach and simplifying cross-border remittances between India and Singapore.

The facility will be available to customers of the added banks from July 17.

“With this development, which will go live on July 17, 2025, users in both countries can remit funds to a wider base, making the service more accessible and convenient,” said NPCI in a statement.

With the vast network for remittances to India now includes 19 banks – Bank of Baroda, Bank of India, Canara Bank, Central Bank of India, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Federal Bank, HDFC Bank, IndusInd Bank, South Indian Bank, Karur Vysya Bank, IDFC FIRST Bank, Punjab National Bank, and UCO Bank alongside Axis Bank, DBS Bank India, ICICI Bank, Indian Bank, Indian Overseas Bank, and State Bank of India.

Following the development, the recipient in India can receive remittances from Singapore in their accounts held with any of these 19 banks through their preferred UPI-enabled apps such as BHIM, Google Pay and PhonePe.

The money can be received through the UPI app provider by banks as well.

In addition to ICICI Bank, Indian Bank, Indian Overseas Bank, and State Bank of India, Canara Bank, HDFC Bank, and Karur Vysya Bank also offer outbound remittances from India to Singapore.

This service is available to DBS SG and Liquid Group customers in Singapore, NPCI said.

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) collaborated to launch the UPI-PayNow service.

It enables instantaneous cross-border money transfers between people; Indian users can send money to Singaporean users using their Virtual Payment Address (VPA) or mobile number, and Indian users can receive money using their UPI ID.

As the world’s first cloud-based, real-time cross-border payment system, the initiative is a pioneering step in global payment connectivity.

“The expansion of the UPI-PayNow linkage marks a step forward in strengthening cross-border payment infrastructure,” said Ritesh Shukla, MD and CEO, NPCI International.

By enabling access to more banks in India, we are deepening the reach of real-time remittances and supporting greater financial connectivity between the two countries, Shukla added.

–IANS

aps/na