NPCI International Payments Limited (NIPL) and the Central Reserve Bank of Peru (BCRP) have announced a partnership to enable the deployment of a UPI-like real-time payments system in Peru. This collaboration marks a significant milestone, making Peru the first country in South America to adopt the globally renowned Unified Payment Interface (UPI) technology—a symbol of India’s pioneering excellence in digital payments.
This strategic partnership empowers the BCRP to establish a reliable and efficient real-time payments platform within the country. This innovative system facilitates instant payments between individuals and businesses, thereby reducing reliance on cash-based transactions and expanding the use of digital payments to Peru’s large unbanked population. UPI’s collaborative and open banking ethos enables greater connectivity and interoperability with both domestic and international payment networks and will foster innovation and resilience in the Peruvian payment ecosystem.
Commenting on this development, Ritesh Shukla, CEO of NPCI International, said, “Our partnership with the BCRP aims to strengthen Peru’s financial infrastructure, to foster economic growth. We will be working together to address our common objective of promoting digital payments, financial inclusion, cost optimization, and transparency in the payment landscape, with scope for further scalability and adaptability, to embrace future technological advancements and market demands.”
Julio Velarde, Governor of the BCRP, said, “We consider that this new infrastructure will play a fundamental role in fostering innovation and in allowing new participants to enter the Peruvian ecosystem. This will undoubtedly offer new and accessible payment services to everyone, especially the unbanked population in Peru, complementing the existing payments industry.”