Trinidad and Tobago will soon have a secure and efficient payment platform for multiple classes of electronic payments, namely person-to-person (P2P), person-to merchant (P2M) and Government-to-person (G2P) transactions, when it fully adopts the world-renowned Unified Payments Interface (UPI).
That’s because of an agreement signed between the Ministry of Digital Transformation (MDT) and NPCI International Payments Limited (NIPL), on September 10, 2024.
A statement issued by the Ministry reports that a Ceremony for the Official Exchange of the Agreement was held on Thursday (September 26, 2024) with Senior Officials of NIPL.
In addition to officials from the Ministry and NIPL, the agreement exchange was witnessed by the High Commissioner of the Republic of India, H.E. Dr. Pradeep Rajpurohit, who noted that Trinidad and Tobago will be the first Caribbean country to adopt UPI technology; and the Governor of the Central Bank of Trinidad and Tobago, Dr. Alvin Hilaire, who described it as a "game-changer" for T&T's financial ecosystem, and reiterated the Central Bank’s strong support for the initiative.
According to the Ministry, the agreement provides for “the exchange of technical expertise and know-how for the development of a payment platform modelled on India’s globally renowned Unified Payments Interface (UPI).”
“UPI has been adopted around the world in countries such as Namibia and Peru and enabled for interoperability by France, Mauritius, and Singapore,” the Ministry’s release explained.
“The Unified Payments Interface (UPI) provides the flexibility to transact from any bank account—from participating banks—using mobile phones,” the Ministry said. “This makes it easier and more affordable for citizens to use digital payment systems.”
It added: “The creation of the national payments platform will be advanced through collaborative engagement of key actors in the financial sector, including the Ministry of Finance, the Central Bank of Trinidad and Tobago, and the private banking sector.”
Speaking at the Exchange Ceremony, Wayne Nakhid, MDT’s National Chief Digital Officer, noted that the Government of India provided tremendous support leading up to the Agreement, highlighting the Memorandum of Understanding for technical collaboration on digital technologies that was signed in August 2023.
He underscored the benefits of UPI.
“UPI has the potential to enhance financial inclusion to our unbanked citizens, encourage the expansion and drive innovation in the fintech sector, strengthen the technical resilience of our current payment infrastructure and even help deliver social services equitably,” Nakhid said.
"The UPI programme is a step forward—a step into the future that our people need, want, and deserve," he added.
Partner agency, NPCI International Payments Limited (NIPL), commended T&T for its bold action in embracing UPI.
"Trinidad and Tobago is taking significant steps towards advancing its financial infrastructure, and we are proud to support them in building a secure, sovereign, and scalable payments platform," said NIPL CEO Ritesh Shukla.