LIMA, June 6 (NNN-ANDINA) — The Peruvian Central Reserve Bank (BCR), in collaboration with the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), signed an agreement with the National Payments Corporation of the south-Asian country to implement a retail payments platform in Peru, similar to the Unified Payments Interface (UPI) platform currently operating in India.
UPI is a real-time payments platform, available permanently (24/7), which enables users to link multiple bank accounts to their mobile apps and pay using their mobile number, QR codes, and virtual payment ID (UPI ID).
Through greater interoperability and a better user experience, UPI has managed to expand the use of digital payments in India. It is currently used by more than 410 million people and 340 million businesses in said country.
Besides, with over 117 billion transactions in 2023, UPI processes the world’s largest digital payments volume.
This strategic alliance allows the BCR to establish a reliable and efficient real-time payments platform in Peru.
This innovative platform facilitates instant payments between individuals and businesses, thereby reducing dependence on cash transactions and expanding the use of digital payments to the large fraction of Peru’s unbanked population, promoting financial inclusion.
UPI’s collaborative and open banking approach enables greater connectivity and interoperability with both domestic and international payment networks. Similarly, it will largely foster innovation and resilience in Peru’s payments ecosystem.
RBI’s support has been essential for this agreement.
The BCR’s goal is to promote greater access, security, redundancy, and efficiency, as well as to facilitate the introduction of new use cases in digital payments.
This new infrastructure will play an essential role in fostering innovation and facilitating the entry of new participants into the Peruvian ecosystem, which will undoubtedly offer new and accessible payment services for everyone, especially for Peru’s unbanked population, complementing existing payment infrastructures.
This is expected to consolidate rapid growth in digital payments use that has been observed in Peru, in addition to making the retail payments ecosystem in the South American country more resilient and robust. — NNN-ANDINA
