Modi Urges Global Fintech Collaboration, UPI Expansion

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday called for global collaboration to expand India's Unified Payments Interface (UPI) and leverage fintech for broader financial inclusion. Speaking at the seventh edition of the Global Fintech Fest in Mumbai, Modi highlighted UPI's decade-long success, noting it has processed over 2.4 billion transactions in the past month and is now operational in 11 countries. Modi urged stakeholders to view fintech not just as a technological advancement but as a tool for societal progress, echoing remarks by French President Emmanuel Macron who described UPI as a "civilisational story." The Prime Minister emphasized that UPI's international expansion should focus on countries with significant Indian populations and strong trade ties, aiming to reduce remittance costs for the Indian diaspora. Direct UPI transactions with Singapore have already commenced, and India aims to extend this connectivity to other nations. Beyond its success in payments, Modi called for the next phase of India's fintech growth to encompass credit, insurance, savings, and investments.