Reports this week claim that National Payments Corporation of India or NPCI is talking to companies to make UPI payments authenticated using biometric features on our smartphones.

The Memorandum of Understanding was signed on Friday during Jaishankar's three-day official visit to the Maldives.

A source revealed that Swiggy has been testing the UPI service with its employees for the past month and plans to gradually roll out the service to all users in phases over the coming months. The UPI Plugin, launched by the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) in 2022, allows merchants to offer UPI payment services within their apps without needing a TPAP license.

"The meeting entailed comprehensive discussions on strategies to broaden and deepen the adoption and usage of UPI. Valuable inputs and suggestions were exchanged among stakeholders," the statement noted.

India and Ghana are working to link their payment systems, the Unified Payments Interface (UPI) and the Ghana Interbank Payment and Settlement Systems (GHIPSS), respectively, to permit users to make instant, low-cost fund transfers on a reciprocal basis.

According to data from the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI), the transaction volume in April was Rs 19.64 lakh crore, down from Rs 19.78 lakh crore in March.

Under the leadership of the Modi government over the past decade, there has been unprecedented growth in the adoption of debit cards, credit cards, and UPI/retail digital transactions.  Comparing the period from 2014 to 2024, RuPay cards, which were non-existent a decade ago, have now captured approximately 80% of the debit card market share. 

Starting from Friday, March 8, 2024, Indians can make QR-code-based UPI transactions in Nepal. In this initial phase of collaboration, Indian consumers can utilize UPI-enabled apps to seamlessly make instant, secure, and convenient payments across various business establishments in Nepal.

Dheeraj Aneja, Senior VP of Fintech and Payments Group at Flipkart, highlighted the significance of Flipkart UPI, stating, "Flipkart UPI seamlessly merges the convenience and cost-effectiveness of UPI with the trusted efficiency customers expect from us." He emphasized Flipkart's commitment to delivering best-in-class commerce experiences by offering safe and convenient payment options along with various rewards and benefits such as Supercoins and Brand Vouchers.

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman delivered significant insights during the Pandit Hriday Nath Kunzru Memorial Lectures 2024 at JNU, shedding light on India's robust economic fundamentals and the evolving global trade scenario.

Union Information and Broadcasting Minister Anurag Thakur conveyed an optimistic forecast, declaring that India is on track to achieve developed nation status well before 2047, attributing this trajectory to government initiatives and collaborative efforts across sectors, including industry.

Nasscom-Arthur D. Little report titled 'Digital Public Infrastructure of India, Accelerating India's Digital Inclusion' said that mature DPIs such as Aadhaar, UPI (Unified Payments Interface), and FASTag have witnessed exponential adoption by 2022, and the next 7-8 years offer an opportunity for further scalability, reaching even the most remote segments of the population.