RBI Launches Advanced Digital-Payment Innovations to Expand Cross-Border and Retail Use
SDG 9: Industry, Innovation & Infrastructure | SDG 17: Partnerships for the Goals
Institutions: Reserve Bank of India | NPCI | Ministry of Finance
At the Global Fintech Festival 2025, RBI Deputy Governor T. Rabi Sankar unveiled a series of next-generation UPI solutions to strengthen India’s payment ecosystem and enable seamless domestic and cross-border transactions.
Key launches included:
UPI Multi-Signatory Mode, allowing corporate and joint accounts to authorise transactions through multi-party digital approval.
UPI Lite Wearables, extending offline, low-value payments to smart rings and watches.
“Bharat Connect” Cross-Border Platform, integrating forex and remittance channels for low-cost instant payments between India and partner countries.
These innovations build on RBI’s strategy for Payments Vision 2025, which seeks to make UPI “borderless, context-aware, and ubiquitous.” The enhancements position India as a global standards-setter in real-time payments, with NPCI International driving bilateral linkages across ASEAN and GCC markets.
The launch strengthens India’s leadership in fintech interoperability and payment sovereignty. It advances the shift from a “national payments system” to a global public infrastructure model, supporting both Indian diaspora and foreign travel segments.
What is UPI Lite X and Bharat Connect?
UPI Lite X extends UPI’s offline functionality for small-ticket transactions on smart devices, while Bharat Connect acts as a cross-border payment bridge integrating forex settlement and compliance layers to support instant international transfers.
Relevant Question for Policy Stakeholders:
What regulatory and data-governance frameworks are needed to scale UPI’s cross-border applications while preserving financial integrity and consumer protection?
Follow the full release here: RBI Deputy Governor Launches Digital-Payment Innovations at GFF 2025
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