India and New Zealand discuss trade through UPI

India and New Zealand are discussing the potential adoption of the Unified Payments Interface (UPI) in the latter country to facilitate smoother trade, tourism, and business interactions between the two nations, according to the Ministry of Commerce.

These matters were a focal point in a bilateral meeting between India’s Commerce and Industry Minister, Piyush Goyal, and New Zealand’s Minister for Trade and Export Growth, Damien O’Connor. During this meeting, both ministers expressed enthusiasm for early discussions between the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) and Payments NZ concerning the UPI system. They agreed that this collaboration should continue, believing that introducing UPI in New Zealand could enhance business ease, trade, and tourism ties.

It’s worth noting that the NPCI, the organization overseeing UPI services in India, has expanded its reach internationally. In 2022, it signed an MoU with France’s online payment system, Lyra, while in 2023, UPI partnered with Singapore’s PayNow to facilitate cross-border transactions. Moreover, the UAE, Bhutan, and Nepal have adopted the UPI payment system.

The NPCI’s international arm is actively discussing extending UPI services to regions such as the US, European countries, and West Asia. In agriculture and horticulture, there were conversations about potential innovative technical collaborations encompassing Kiwi fruit, pharmaceuticals, processing, storage, and transportation.

India’s exports to New Zealand reached US$ 548 million in 2022-23 from US$ 487.6 million in 2021-22, with imports increasing to US$ 47 million in 2022-23 from US$ 375 million in 2021-22.
Source: Business Standard