RBI Joins Nexus to Link UPI with ASEAN Fast Payment Systems for Cross-Border Payments

Mumbai: RBI has joined Project Nexus, an initiative to enable instant cross-border retail payments by linking domestic Fast Payment Systems (FPS). Nexus will initially interlink India's Unified Payments Interface (UPI) and the FPSs of Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, and Thailand by next year. Indonesia is set to join the platform in the future.
"In my view, the greatest advantage of Project Nexus will be to make cross-border payments much faster and less costly. As per a World Bank assessment, the average cost of remitting $200 across borders is about 6.2%. Project Nexus will bring down this cost. This is a precursor to greater international cooperation among countries to enable faster cross-border remittances at a lower cost," said Shaktikanta Das, Reserve Bank of India Governor at the signing of the agreement on Sunday.
The other participating central banks are Bank for International Settlement and the central banks of the founding countries i.e., Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM), Bank of Thailand (BOT), Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP), and Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS). Indonesia, which has been involved from the early stages, continues to be involved as a special observer.
Nexus is an initiative of the Bank for International Settlements Innovation Hub (BISIH). The BISH involves four ASEAN countries (Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand) and India as founding members.
In a statement issued here, RBI said that it has been working bilaterally to connect India’s FPS (UPI) with those of other countries for cross-border person-to-person (P2P) and person-to-merchant (P2M) payments.
"While India and its partner countries can continue to benefit through such bilateral connectivity of Fast Payment Systems, a multilateral approach will provide further impetus to our efforts in expanding the international reach of Indian payment systems," RBI said in a statement.
The Nexus platform, which is expected to go live by 2026, can be extended to include more countries over time. The objective is to enhance the efficiency, speed, and cost-effectiveness of retail cross-border payments.