Bhutan has become the first country to adopt India’s Integrated Payment Interface (UPI) standard for its Quick Response (QR) codes. According to information provided by NPCI International Payments Limited (NIPL), it is the second country after Singapore to accept BHIM-UPI. That is, now transactions can be done in Bhutan also through BHIM-UPI.
India’s success in fintech
Speaking on the virtual launch of BHIM-UPI in Bhutan, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said that it will help Indian tourists to visit Bhutan. He said BHIM-UPI is one of India’s achievements in FinTech. More than 200,000 tourists from India visit Bhutan every year. These tourists will find great ease and relief in transacting in Bhutan.
What is BHIM-UPI
Bharat Interface for Money (BHIM) is India’s digital payment application (App) which works through UPI. UPI is a system that facilitates transactions from multiple bank accounts in a single mobile application. At the same time, NPCI is the major unit running the retail payment and settlement system in India. It has been created jointly by the Reserve Bank of India and the Indian Banks’ Association to create a robust payment and settlement infrastructure in India.
Work in lockdown
According to the Finance Minister, BHIM-UPI emerged as an “effective mechanism” of payments during the lockdown caused by the Kovid-19 pandemic and in 2020-21, it generated a total of 22 billion financial transactions worth Rs 41 lakh crore. The Government of India imposed a strict 68-day lockdown from 25 March 2020 to prevent the first wave of the Corona epidemic. During that time there was an increase in transactions through BHIM-UPI.
Sharing with Bhutan
The Finance Minister also said that it is a proud product of India which we are sharing with Bhutan today. Unified Payments Interface (UPI) is an instant real time payment system that allows users to transfer money across multiple bank accounts on a real time basis. The payment system NIPL, the international unit of NPCI, was launched in partnership with the Royal Monetary Authority (RMA) of Bhutan.
Will be accepted everywhere
NIPL said in a statement that the RMA will ensure that the participating NPCI mobile application is accepted through UPI QR transactions at all RMA-covered merchants in Bhutan.
