Narendra Modi In Singapore, Launched Three Indian Payment Apps & Signed 8 Agreements

PM Narendra Modi In Singapore, Launched Three Indian Payment Apps & Signed 8 Agreements- Details, Purpose, Importance

Prime Minister Narendra Modi during a three-nation visit to ASEAN countries arrived in Singapore for the third & final leg of his tour on 31st May 2018.

This is PM Narendra Modi’s second official visit to Singapore after one in 2016.

PM Modi also met Singapore's PM Lee Hsien Loong and signed 8 agreements in areas of naval cooperation, cybersecurity, nursing, military cooperation, terrorism, trade and economic cooperation among others.

PM Narendra Modi on the occasion launched three Indian digital payment systems namely RuPay, BHIM app and UPI by SBI at the 'Business, Innovation and Community Event' in Singapore.

With the launch of these 3 digital apps, India's RuPay digital payments system got linked up with Singapore's 33-year old Network for Electronic Transfers (NETS). This decision will enable RuPay users to make payments at all of NETS acceptance points across Singapore.

In return, holders of Singapore NETS will be able to make an online purchase on any National Payment Corporation of India (NPCI) e-commerce merchant website in India, using 2.8 million RuPay point of sale terminals in India.

Importance

The development is important, as it would help to devise multi-billion dollar transactions as some five million Indians travel to and transit through Singapore, internationalizing the RuPay beginning with the first cross-border usage.

India takes Singapore as a gateway to ASEAN and as a bridge between India and Asia. Singapore is also a key partner for India in projects related to smart cities, urban infrastructure and logistics.