The Republic of Trinidad and Tobago will soon have a secure and efficient payment platform for both person-to-person (P2P), person-to merchant (P2M) and Government-to-person (G2P) transactions. The Ministry of Digital Transformation (MDT) signed an agreement with NPCI International Payments Limited (NIPL) on September 10, 2024. An Official Exchange Ceremony of the Agreement was held yesterday September 26, 2024, with Senior Officials of NIPL which was witnessed by H.E. Dr. Pradeep Rajpurohit, High Commissioner of the Republic of India, Dr. Alvin Hilaire, Governor of the Central Bank and accompanying officials of the respective organisations. 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) which has been adopted around the world in countries such as Namibia and Peru and enabled for interoperability by France, Mauritius, and Singapore. The Unified Payments Interface (UPI) provides the flexibility to transact from any bank account (from participating banks) using mobile phones This makes it easier and more affordable for citizens to use digital payment systems.
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, Mr Wayne Nakhid, MDT’s National Chief Digital Officer highlighted the benefits of UPI, noting that it “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.” He also recognised the support provided by the Government of India, highlighting the Memorandum of Understanding for technical collaboration on digital technologies that was signed in August 2023. “The UPI programme is a step forward, a step into the future that our people need, want, and deserve,” he added.
The partner agency, NIPL has commended the country for its bold action with Mr Ritesh Shukla, CEO of NPCI International stating that “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.” High Commissioner Rajpurohit noted that Trinidad and Tobago will be the first Caribbean country to adopt UPI technology; and Dr. Hilaire advised of the Central Bank’s strong support for the implementation of a national payments platform which he described as a “game-changer” for the country’s financial ecosystem.
Photo Caption: L to R: Dr Alvin Hilaire, Governor and Chairman of the Board of the Central Bank of Trinidad and Tobago; Cory Belfon, Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Digital Transformation, Trinidad and Tobago; Maria Francis of NPCI International; Dr Pradeep Singh Rajpurohit, High Commissioner of India to the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago.