Trinidad and Tobago has entered into a partnership with NPCI International Payments to introduce a real-time digital payments platform modeled after India’s Unified Payments Interface (UPI). The initiative, led by the Ministry of Digital Transformation, aims to facilitate seamless person-to-person and person-to-merchant transactions, significantly advancing the country’s digital payments ecosystem and fostering financial inclusion.
India’s UPI, launched in 2016, has been pivotal in driving financial inclusion through digital payments, crossing 100 billion transactions globally. NPCI International was formed in 2020 to expand UPI’s reach beyond India, with successful partnerships already established with countries like Peru, Namibia, and Nepal. This latest collaboration with Trinidad and Tobago signals a broader push for global adoption, following other deals with global payment players like Google Pay.
A ministry representative emphasized that the UPI-based platform will foster innovation in Trinidad and Tobago’s fintech space, bolster payment system resiliency, and reduce cash dependency, thus promoting financial inclusion for the unbanked population.