BHIM UPI to be launched in Bhutan as NPCI's overseas arm joins hands with RMA

BHIM is an Indian mobile payment app developed by the National Payments Corporation of India, based on the Unified Payments Interface.

National Payment Corporation of India's international arm NPCI International Payments Ltd (NIPL) and Bhutan's Royal Monetary Authority (RMA) on July 13 announced their partnership for enabling and implementing BHIM UPI QR-based payments in Bhutan.

The service will be formally launched by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on July 13, 2021 at a virtual ceremony in presence of Bhutan Finance Minister Lyonpo Namgay Tshering, Bhutan's Royal Monetary Authority Governor Dasho Penjore, and others.

With this partnership, the two South Asian nations will add a new milestone in financial integration between the two economies. The partnership will ensure both NIPL and RMA enable acceptance of Unified Payments Interface (UPI)-powered BHIM App in Bhutan.

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The RMA will ensure that the participating NPCI mobile application through UPI QR transactions is accepted at all RMA acquired merchants in Bhutan. This new collaboration would help over 200,000 tourists from India who travel to Bhutan each year.

Bhutan has become the only country to both issue and accept RuPay cards as well as accept BHIM UPI. Also, Bhutan will become the first country to adopt Unified Payment Interface (UPI) standards for its QR deployment.

“Our vision has always been focused on taking our robust and popular payments solutions to global markets," NIPL CEO Ritesh Shukla said in a release.

The new digital payment mechanism would not only help the Indian tourists for transactions purposes, but also add value to lives of customers in Bhutan.

UPI being an instant real-time payment system, allows users to transfer money on a real-time basis, across multiple bank accounts without revealing details of one’s bank account to the other party. It is simple, safe, cost-effective mobile-based payments system that has become one of the most prominent forms of digital payments.

In 2020 alone, UPI enabled commerce was worth $457 billion, which is equivalent to approximately 15 percent of India’s GDP.