Japan is “seriously thinking” about joining the Unified Payments Interface (UPI) network to allow cross-border payments between Japanese residents and those in India, and other countries like Singapore and Thailand who are joining the network, according to Taro Kono, the country’s Minister of Digital Affairs.
UPI “is a very convenient system of payment, where we can increase the interoperability of our payment system between Japan and India, or other countries such as Singapore, Thailand ... I heard UAE is also joining,” Mr. Kono told the WION news channel on May 18. “It could be another standard of cross-border tele-payment system.” Apart from Singapore, Thailand and the United Arab Emirates, other countries that have shown interest in UPI include Bahrain, Mauritius and Indonesia.
Japan and India are trying to “promote digital cooperation,” Mr. Kono said. India was a guest country at the G7 group of countries’ meeting of Digital and Tech Ministers of the grouping, with Indian Minister of Electronics and Information Technology Ashwini Vaishnaw representing the country in Tokyo.
