Peru to adopt UPI technology, first South American country to do so

Peru will soon have an instant payments system similar to UPI according to a deal signed on Wednesday between the South American nation's central bank and NPCI International Payments Limited (NIPL), the international division of the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI).

Peru to adopt UPI technology, first South American country to do so

In order to implement the Unified Payments Interface (UPI) stack in the global market, NIPL is partnering with a central bank for the second time. The payments body and the Bank of Namibia (BoN) signed a contract in May of this year to create an instant payment system similar to UPI in the African country.

"Our partnership with the BCRP aims to strengthen Peru's financial infrastructure, to foster economic growth," stated Ritesh Shukla, CEO of NIPL. When it launches, Peruvian people will be able to perform financial transactions with an unmatched degree of efficiency, security, and ease.
The collaboration will enable instantaneous transfers between people and companies and increase the number of unbanked people in Peru who utilize digital payments.

A key component of this deal has been the backing of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). The Central Reserve Bank of Peru, or BCRP, seeks to advance efficiency, security, and financial inclusion while introducing novel applications for digital payments. Furthermore, we believe that this new infrastructure will be crucial in promoting innovation and opening doors for new players to join the Peruvian ecosystem, stated Governor of BCRP Julio Velarde.

The move comes as NPCI pushed to expand UPI rails internationally after successfully entering markets in France, Singapore, Mauritius, Sri Lanka, and other countries.
The UPI-PayNow connectivity, which enables Indians to receive remittances directly into their bank accounts from Singapore and vice versa, was announced by NPCI in January 2024.
In order to facilitate UPI acceptance in France, it announced in February of this year a cooperation with the e-commerce and proximity payments startup Lyra.
UPI services were launched in Mauritius and Sri Lanka in the same month.