Project Nexus: A UPI-like platform for cross-border payments

• Follow

Soon, you will be able to make payments from India to other countries in 60 seconds or less. Currently, a service similar to cross-border UPI is under development through Project Nexus. India is collaborating on this project with several ASEAN countries, including Malaysia, Singapore, the Philippines, and Thailand.

What is this project, and how will it enable you to make payments abroad in just a few seconds? Let’s explore.

Central banks of India, Malaysia, Singapore, the Philippines and Thailand are working together on this project. This is being overseen by the Bank for International Settlements (BIS). These countries are working on the live implementation of this project and Indonesia’s central bank, Bank Indonesia, is participating as an observer. Indonesia will also join the project in the future. The goal of this project is to promote cross-border payments by connecting different domestic instant payment systems (IPS) around the world.

India’s UPI is a Fast Payments System (FPS), and the RBI is already working to link it with the FPS of several other countries.

The Nexus platform aims to provide cross-border Person-to-Person (P2P) and Person-to-Merchant (P2M) payment services. Meanwhile, P2P means you will be able to make instant payments to friends in other countries from India. While P2M means you will be able to make payments to merchants, such as shops or restaurants, in foreign countries. While work is ongoing to connect UPI with FPS systems in different countries, Project Nexus is also preparing to expand Indian payment systems globally.

What are the benefits of Nexus?

The benefits of this platform include simplifying the connection between different instant payment systems. Instead of a payment system operator in one country connecting separately with operators in other countries, they will only need to connect through the Nexus platform. This single connection will provide a fast payments system across all participating countries through the network. This will ensure that instant cross-border payments through Nexus will be significantly faster.

India and some ASEAN countries are founding members of this platform, and they will be the first to use it. On June 30, 2024, the central banks of these countries signed an agreement for this platform, which is expected to start functioning within the next two years. Other countries may join the platform in the future, making international payments easier. Sending money abroad, spending while traveling, and making purchases internationally will become much simpler.