Singapore offers help to promote RuPay card overseas

New Delhi: Singapore has offered assistance to promote India's digital payment network RuPay card overseas by becoming its first international partner.

Singapore Foreign Affairs Minister Vivian Balakrishnan said his country is ready to become RuPay Card's first international partner, while praising steps taken by the government such as promotion of digital payments and use of Aadhaar.

The RuPay card is a digital payment platform whose benefits include lower transaction cost as the processing is done within India, which also leads to faster transactions.

Balakrishnan believes there is a need to step up the pace of digitisation in India.

The minister offered Singapore's help in taking RuPay overseas by becoming its first international partner while addressing a conference organised by CII late last evening.

According to Balakrishnan, global value chains are changing due to technology and India needs to integrate itself with South-East Asia to take advantage of this opportunity.

He pointed out that international tourist arrivals in India were just 8.2 million, about half of what Singapore currently receives.

The minister was of the view that given India's diversity and size, the country has the potential to increase foreign tourist arrivals manifold. Towards this objective, he drew attention to the air connectivity between India and South-East Asia.

"He observed that Singapore is India?s 10th largest trading partner and 2nd largest foreign investor. He stressed that the investment figures comprise actual investment such as Ascendas' USD 2 billion investment in IT parks, Sembcorp's investment of USD 3 billion in the power sector and Singapore Airline's investment in Vistara," CII said in a statement.

He also highlighted India's strong historical footprint in the region and deep influence in the culture, religion and languages of South-East Asia. Singapore, the Minister pointed out, throughout history has always acted as a gateway for India in the region.