Bahrain keen on UPI linking for faster payment

TDT | Manama

The Daily Tribune – www.newsofbahrain.com

Reported by Zahra Ayaz

Bahrain has expressed interest in India’s retail payment system and held preliminary talks with the government about a possible collaboration.

“It (UPI-PayNow linkage) is a good example. We have interest in it but we haven’t got to the stage of saying it would be done yet. But initial discussions have happened,” Abdulla Adel Fakhro, Minister of Industrial and Commerce told Indian media.

“During the discussion, Indian government officials were open to sharing their experience on the technology. QR code-based merchant payments through UPI apps are already enabled in Singapore and UAE.”

This is in line with the recent integration of India’s Unified Payment Interface (UPI) and Singapore’s PayNow payment system. Bahrain is interested in investing in all sectors, particularly in those related to food, manufacturing, information and communication technology, petrochemicals, and research and development.