India is set to integrate its Unified Payments Interface (UPI) with Malaysia’s PayNet, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 20th August announced this after a bilateral meeting with Malaysian Prime Minister, Anwar Ibrahim in New Delhi.
In a joint press conference, Modi highlighted the collaborative effort to link India’s UPI system with Malaysia’s PayNet, aiming to enhance financial connectivity between the two nations and extend UPI’s global footprint. Pankaj Chaudhary, Minister of State for Finance, emphasised that both the Indian government and the Reserve Bank of India are working diligently to expand UPI’s international presence.
Currently, UPI is operational in countries like Bhutan, Singapore, the UAE, France, Mauritius, Sri Lanka and Nepal, as part of India’s strategy to broaden its instant payment network worldwide.
The announcement followed a fruitful meeting between Modi and Anwar Ibrahim at Hyderabad House, where they discussed strengthening bilateral ties and regional cooperation. Modi reiterated India’s commitment to ASEAN centrality, supporting Malaysia’s upcoming chairmanship of ASEAN in 2025 and underscored the importance of a timely review of the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) between India and ASEAN.
In addition to financial collaboration, Modi announced plans to enhance educational and training opportunities for Malaysian students in India. Under the Indian Technical and Economic Cooperation (ITEC) scholarship program, 100 seats will be allocated for Malaysians in advanced fields such as cybersecurity and artificial intelligence (AI).