Phl taps India to upgrade digital payments

The Philippines is looking to adopt India’s Unified Payments Interface (UPI) technology to speed up government financial aid and make digital payments more accessible to consumers and businesses.

The proposal was discussed during a 12 September meeting between President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr., Cabinet officials and Ritesh Shukla, managing director and chief executive officer of NPCI International Payments Ltd. (NIPL), the international arm of India’s National Payments Corporation of India.

A key priority is using UPI capabilities to improve Government-to-Person (G2P) payments through the Land Bank of the Philippines (LandBank), allowing government assistance to be distributed more quickly and efficiently.

“During our meeting with President Marcos Jr. and NPCI International, we agreed to bring India's UPI technology to the Philippines. This will allow LandBank to distribute government financial aid much faster and make daily digital transactions easier and cheaper for ordinary Filipinos,” Trade Secretary Cristina A. Roque said.

The proposed system could also connect UPI with the Philippines’ QR Ph network, allowing micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) to accept digital payments from foreign tourists and international buyers.

“By bringing India’s UPI technology to the Philippines, we will also directly empower our MSMEs by making cross-border payments seamless and digital transactions cheaper and more accessible,” Roque said.

Finance Secretary Frederick D. Go, who also chairs LandBank, said the government is exploring payment technologies that could reduce the cost of delivering public services and improve the speed and security of transactions.

The discussions also covered the modernization of the national clearing network through the newly merged Payments Network of the Philippines Inc. (PNPI)/BancNet and potential links between UPI, QR Ph, InstaPay and GCash.

The government is also considering investment facilitation measures for NIPL, including expedited processing under Executive Order No. 18 and possible fiscal incentives under the CREATE MORE Act and the Strategic Investment Priority Plan.

The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) said it will coordinate with the Department of Finance, Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, LandBank and PNPI/BancNet to advance technical implementation.