National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) announced on Thursday that its international subsidiary has entered into an agreement with the Bank of Namibia (BoN) to develop an real-time payment system akin to India's Unified Payment Interface (UPI) for Namibia.
This collaboration aims to assist Namibia in modernizing its financial infrastructure by leveraging technology and expertise derived from India's UPI system.
“NPCI International is thrilled to announce its partnership with the Bank of Namibia to support them in developing a UPI-like real-time payment system in the African nation. This marks our first-ever collaboration with a central bank to deploy UPI Stack in an international market” NPCI shared on X (Former Twitter).
Through this collaboration, BoN will gain access to cutting-edge technology and insights from NIPL, facilitating the development of a comparable platform in Namibia to advance its citizens' digital well-being.
“By enabling this technology, the country will gain sovereignty in the digital payments landscape and stand to benefit from enhanced payment interoperability and improved financial access for underserved populations” claims NPCI International CEO Ritesh Shukla.
Upon activation, the platform will enable digital transactions in Namibia, fostering financial inclusion and diminishing reliance on cash by serving underserved communities. This cooperative endeavour aims to provide fundamental and cost-effective financial services to all, with a specific emphasis on rural and informal sectors.