FSS (Financial Software and Systems), a globally leading provider of integrated payment products and India’s largest payments processor, and NPCI International Payments Ltd (NIPL, International arm of National Payment Corporation of India), have signed a strategic partnership to expand UPI (Unified Payment Interface) rails in international markets.
India is among the first countries globally to launch real-time payments rails, processing close to three billion transactions a month on the UPI network. Several governments and regulators globally, and emerging markets, in particular, are keen on modelling NPCI’s success in building an interoperable, real-time payments infrastructure, supporting the long-term growth of the digital payments’ economy.
The FSS and NIPL collaboration brings together complementary capabilities to deliver a compelling end-to-end proposition to activate real-time payments at speed and minimal risk. Under the umbrella of the partnership, NIPL would offer its market-leading real-time payments processing platform and technical acumen to scheme operators whilst FSS would leverage its deep domain understanding and experience in implementing large-scale national payments infrastructure projects, as well as UPI payment services for PSPs, to extend integration and support services.
Commenting on the partnership K. Srinivasan, COO, PayTech, FSS, stated: “Worldwide the drive towards real-time payments is gaining momentum, with many countries embarking on modernization of payments infrastructure to broad-base the benefits of the digital economy. We are excited to partner with NIPL to bring a proven, best-in-class real-time payment offering that will speed innovation and adoption of digital commerce and have a wide-ranging economic impact. The implementation of real-time payments is complex as flavors differ across regions. The collaboration confirms FSS expertise and capabilities in delivering world-class payment infrastructures and services at scale around the world.”
Speaking on the partnership Ritesh Shukla, CEO, NIPL, said: “At NIPL, we are dedicated to take our exemplary robust payments system to global markets and equip willing nations with resources and technological proficiency. FSS is a demonstrated leader in payments and its domain expertise combined with a strong international presence makes them a valuable partner to offer a market-leading, real-time payments system to millions of people across the globe. We look forward to attaining new highs with this partnership."
The shift from a batch payment processing infrastructure to a modern real-time 24X7X365 payments model can be challenging for scheme operators as well as participants. The UPI platform has successfully brought about this shift and transformed the digital payment ecosystem of India. Since its inception in 2016, UPI has witnessed exponential growth in transactions, app users and QR codes deployments. In 2020, UPI processed transactions worth $457 Billion, which is equivalent to 15% of Indian GDP and this feat is achieved at an impressive CAGR of 285%. FSS - UPI Gateway currently supports many bank PSPs in India to connect to the UPI central payments infrastructure and brings a range of overlay services - QR Payments, Split Payments, Request to Pay, Corporate Payments, AutoPay - as well as reconciliation and authentication to enable banks monetize investments in real-time UPI infrastructure. UPI’s multi-party collaborative model (Bank, PSP, FinTechs etc.) fosters collaboration bringing in incremental efficiencies and levels of adoption.