Adding a new milestone in financial integration between the two economies, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman & her Bhutanese counterpart Lyonpo Namgay Tshering, jointly launched BHIM–UPI in Bhutan today.
Speaking on the occasion, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said that BHIM UPI is one of the brightest achievements for digital transactions in India during the time of the COVID-19 pandemic wherein more than 100 million UPI QRs have been created in last 5 years.
Remarkably, BHIM UPI in 2020-21 has processed 22 billion transactions worth a value of Rs. 41 lakh crore.
With this launch, Bhutan has become the first country to adopt Unified Payment Interface (UPI) standards for its QR deployment and the only country to both issue and accept RuPay cards as well as accept BHIM UPI.
NPCI International Payments Ltd (NIPL), the International arm of the National Payment Corporation of India and Royal Monetary Authority (RMA) of Bhutan have partnered for enabling and implementing BHIM UPI QR-based payments in Bhutan.
What is BHIM UPI?
Bharat Interface for Money (BHIM) is a payment app that enables users to make simple, easy and quick transactions using Unified Payments Interface (UPI).
It also allows direct bank payments to anyone on UPI using their UPI ID or scanning their QR with the BHIM app. The users can also request money through the app from a UPI ID.
What does the launch of BHIM-UPI mean for Bhutan?
The launch of BHIM-UPI in Bhutan indicates that the payment infrastructures of the two countries are seamlessly connected and will hitherto benefit a large number of tourists and businessmen from India who travel to Bhutan each year.
This will also heighten the ease of living and ease of travelling through cashless transactions at the touch of a smartphone screen.
Most importantly, BHIM uses three-factor authentication and hence, is relatively more secure from a consumer point of view. It also combines the convenience of a mobile wallet with the security of net banking.
During the launch event today, Finance Minister Nirmala Sithraman made a Live transaction using BHIM-UPI to purchase an organic product from a Bhutanese OGOP outlet, which sells fresh farm produce made organically by local communities in Bhutan.
This launch meets the commitment made by the two countries during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Bhutan in 2019.
Following that visit, India and Bhutan have already enabled inter-operability in acceptance of Rupay cards in each other’s countries in two phases – acceptance of Rupay cards issued in India at Bhutan based terminals in the first phase, and vice versa in the second phase.
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