The Central Bank of the Republic of Peru (BCRP) has announced a partnership with the National Payments Corporation of India International Payments (NIPL) to develop a system similar to India’s Unified Payments Interface (UPI). This collaboration, which includes the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) as a co-founder of the National Payments Corporation, aims to enhance financial inclusion in Peru, particularly for the large unbanked population. The new system is also expected to improve interoperability among both domestic and international payment systems.
BCRP Governor Julio Velarde expressed optimism about the system, highlighting its potential to bring new participants into the Peruvian ecosystem and complement the existing payments industry. While no specific launch date has been provided, the initiative is set to offer more payment options for Peruvians, drawing inspiration from India’s UPI model that enables offline transactions.
Through the UPI system, users can link multiple bank accounts in their mobile apps and utilize virtual payment addresses, phone numbers, and QR codes for seamless 24-hour payments. NIPL, established in 2020, has garnered support from countries like Sri Lanka, Mauritius, France, the United Arab Emirates, Singapore, Bhutan, and Nepal. In fact, Singapore was the first nation to adopt UPI, forging a partnership with PayNow in February 2023.
Additionally, Peru has seen the emergence of stablecoins pegged to the Peruvian sol, along with discussions surrounding the potential introduction of a central bank digital currency (CBDC) since 2021. BCRP has been actively collaborating with monetary authorities from China, India, Singapore, and Hong Kong on CBDC development. Notably, India initiated its retail CBDC pilot a year after this partnership was established.
In the evolving landscape of digital payments and blockchain technology, the initiative between BCRP and NIPL represents a significant step towards modernizing Peru’s financial infrastructure and expanding its reach in the global payments ecosystem.