Prime Minister Narendra Modi has called on India’s fintech ecosystem to expand the global reach of the Unified Payments Interface (UPI) by connecting it with the domestic payment systems of more countries. Speaking at the seventh edition of the Global Fintech Fest (GFF) in Mumbai, Modi said the next phase of India’s fintech journey should focus on taking UPI beyond its existing international footprint.
According to Modi, UPI is currently live in 11 countries and has already been connected with Singapore’s local payment system. He said similar linkages should be pursued with countries that have large Indian populations, significant trade volumes with India or are willing to partner with India to connect their payment systems.
The Prime Minister highlighted the potential impact of wider UPI connectivity on international remittances. Indians working overseas are among the world’s largest remittance senders, and transaction costs can reduce the amount of money that ultimately reaches families in India. Modi said connecting UPI with payment systems in other countries could help reduce these costs while allowing funds to reach recipients faster.
Modi pointed to the existing UPI linkage with Singapore as an example of how international payment connectivity can work. The integration between the two countries’ payment systems enables cross-border transactions to be carried out with a level of convenience comparable to domestic digital payments. He called for similar arrangements with other countries to broaden the international utility of UPI.
The Prime Minister also highlighted the scale UPI has achieved in India. More than 24 billion UPI transactions were processed in August 2026 alone. Reuters reported that UPI handled 24.51 billion transactions during the month, with a transaction value of about $314 billion. The platform has become a central part of India’s digital payments infrastructure since its launch in 2016.
Modi said India should not limit its fintech ambitions to the success achieved in domestic payments. He pointed out that global card payments have historically operated on payment systems and standards developed in other countries, while arguing that India now has the capability to establish its own rules and standards and connect them with the rest of the world.
The Prime Minister also described UPI as more than a technology platform, referring to French President Emmanuel Macron’s earlier description of it as a “civilisational” development. Modi used the platform’s widespread adoption to underline the scale of India’s transformation in digital financial services.
Beyond payments, Modi said the next chapter of India’s fintech industry should expand into areas such as credit, insurance, savings, investments and pensions. He called for greater fintech innovation in these segments, particularly to serve sections of the population that remain underserved by traditional financial systems.
The Prime Minister also outlined priorities for the fintech sector around emerging technologies and financial infrastructure. He urged companies to develop world-class cybersecurity capabilities and ethical data-protection standards, while calling for a stronger regulator-industry-innovation ecosystem. He also proposed the creation of a Fintech Consumer Protection Index that could help transparently assess companies on consumer protection.
Modi further highlighted the potential of technologies such as agentic artificial intelligence, tokenisation and quantum computing to create new opportunities in financial services. He urged the fintech industry to translate these technologies into practical applications while maintaining security, consumer protection and trust.
The push for broader international UPI connectivity comes as the platform completes a decade since its launch. Modi’s latest remarks place greater international integration among the next priorities for India’s digital payments ecosystem, with the government seeking to connect UPI with more domestic payment networks and expand its usefulness for cross-border transactions, remittances and international commerce.
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