NPCI extends BHIM UPI to Bhutan

WHY IN NEWS?

Bhutan has become first country to adopt Unified Payment Interface (UPI) standards of India for its quick response (QR) code.

About:

• Bhutan after Singapore has become the second country to have BHIM-UPI acceptance at merchant locations.
• International wing of the National Payment Corporation of India (NPCI) called NPCI International Payments Ltd. (NIPL) announced partnership with Royal Monetary Authority (RMA) of Bhutan to implement BHIM UPI QR-based payments in Bhutan.
• Bhutan will also become the only country to issue & accept RuPay cards and accept BHIM-UPI.

Significance of the move

BHIM-UPI is a significant achievement of India in area of fintech. During covid-19 induced lockdown, BHIM-UPI became an effective mechanism of payment. In 2020-21, it processed 22 billion financial transactions of worth rupee 41 lakh crore. In the line, this partnership among NPCI and RMA, is going to benefit 200,000 tourists from India who travel to Bhutan every year.