RBI, ASEAN to launch platform for instant cross-border retail payments

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and ASEAN countries have agreed to establish a platform to enable instant cross-border retail payments, with the platform expected to go live by 2026.

In a statement, the RBI announced its participation in Project Nexus, a multilateral international initiative designed to facilitate instant cross-border retail payments by interlinking domestic fast payment systems (FPSs).

Project Nexus, conceptualised by the Innovation Hub of the Bank for International Settlements (BIS), aims to connect the FPSs of four ASEAN countries—Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, and Thailand—alongside India. These nations will be the founding members and first movers of this platform.

An agreement to this effect was signed by the BIS and the central banks of the founding countries—Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM), Bank of Thailand (BOT), Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP), Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS)—and RBI on Sunday in Basel, Switzerland. Indonesia, involved from the early stages, continues to participate as a special observer.

"The platform can be extended to more countries in the future," the RBI stated.

Once operational, Nexus will play a crucial role in making retail cross-border payments more efficient, faster, and cost-effective. The RBI has been collaborating bilaterally with various countries to link India's FPS, Unified Payments Interface (UPI), with their respective FPSs for cross-border Person to Person (P2P) and Person to Merchant (P2M) payments.

While India and its partner countries can continue to benefit from such bilateral connectivity of fast payment systems, a multilateral approach will further enhance the international reach of Indian payment systems, the statement added.

(With PTI inputs)