Boasting about the country’s extensive and fast digital payment ecosystem, India’s External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Sunday (Jan 21) claimed that the number of cashless transactions the United States does in three years, India does in a month.
The EAM made the comment while interacting with people of the Indian community during his official Nigeria trip.
“The life of every Indian citizen has become easier and this is because we have embraced technology in a very deep way. You can see this in payment, very few people today pay in cash and very few people accept cash,” said Jaishankar.
“Today, we do as many cashless payments in India in a month as much as America does in three years,” Jaishankar added.
Most Western nations have struggled to move to a cashless economy but in India, even the poorest have seamlessly adopted the novel payment system.
Jaishankar also highlighted that India was among the fastest-growing economies of the world and that business sentiment about New Delhi had greatly improved.
“Today, what is happening in the economy, we are the fastest-growing big economy in the world, but it is much more than that. Today, if you see the economic activity in India, wherever you go, something is being built. A metro is being built, a road is being built, new airports are coming up, new trains are coming up, railway stations are coming up. If you go to your village, piped water is coming up, there is an electricity connection coming,” Jaishankar said.
UPI’s introduction in India
It was in 2016 that the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) introduced the Unified Payments Interface (UPI) technology to the country. PhonePe was one of the first platforms to integrate UPI into its system.
A year later, several competitors followed suit and since then, UPI has transformed into a behemoth that even foreign nations are looking to get their hands on. The UAE, Singapore, Nepal and Bhutan have already adopted UPI, with a few more countries waiting to join the bandwagon.
Last week, Google India Digital Services and NPCI signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to expand UPI to countries beyond India. Google stated the objective of the MoU was to help accelerate UPI’s global acceptance and help Indian consumers who will no longer have to rely only on foreign currency or credit and forex cards.
(With inputs from agencies)
