PayNow, UPI Allow Real-time Fund Transfers From SG to India

You Can Now Transfer Funds Real-time From S'pore to India With PayNow, UPI

Singapore residents can now transfer funds in real time to India (and vice versa), thanks to the joint effort of the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) and the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). The official launch was spearheaded by Prime Minister of Singapore Lee Hsien Loong and Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi.

This partnership provides “a safe and cost-effective way to process cross-border fund transfers” to its customers by using the mobile number registered on Singapore’s PayNow and India’s Unified Payments Interface (UPI), according to a media release by MAS on Feb. 21.


The joint project of PayNow and UPI is regarded as the first real-time payment systems in the world “to use a scalable cloud-based infrastructure which can accommodate future increases in the volume of remittance traffic.”

Customers who have accounts with DBS Bank and Liquid Group are eligible to conduct limited transactions until March 31 under a phased approach.

“At launch, selected DBS customers will be able to transfer funds of up to SGD200 per transaction, capped at SGD500 per day. By 31 March 2023, this service will be available to all DBS customers, where they may transfer funds of up to SGD1,000. This initiative is to support DBS’ customer base to familiarise customers with the service,” the release read.

On the other hand, Indian customers of participating banks – ICICI Bank, Indian Bank, Indian Overseas Bank and State Bank of India – may transact inward and outward remittances upon the tie-up’s launch. 

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