Muscat – India’s Unified Payments Interface (UPI) platform and RuPay cards could soon be accepted in Oman, benefiting Indian workers and professionals residing in the sultanate.

In a significant step to expand economic cooperation between the two countries, a memorandum of understanding (MoU) was signed on Tuesday between Central Bank of Oman (CBO) and National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) for cooperation in digital payment systems.

The MoU was signed by H E Tahir bin Salim al Amri, CBO’s executive president and Ritesh Shukla, CEO of International Payments Limited, a subsidiary of NPCI.

NPCI has created a robust payments infrastructure and changed the way payments are made in India through its innovative retail payment solutions such as RuPay card and UPI platform.

The landmark agreement between CBO and NPCI aims at studying the possibility of connecting the UPI and RuPay card used in India with similar payment systems and services in Oman, according to a statement issued by CBO.

‘In order to maximise the mutual benefits for the two countries, the proposed cooperation will also consider the possibility of using debit cards issued by the banks in Oman to be used in India through OmanNet, as well as using the Mobile Payment System,’ CBO added.

The MoU signing ceremony was attended by a high-level Indian delegation headed by V Muraleedharan, India’s Minister of State for External Affairs and Parliamentary Affairs. H E Amit Narang, Indian ambassador to Oman, and other officials from Indian government and CBO were also present at the ceremony.

CBO president H E Amri explained that this cooperation aims to explore linking payment systems and services between the two countries, adding that this step will undoubtedly benefit the citizens of the two countries.

He further added that the MoU will also contribute to the knowledge transfer in payment systems domain between the two countries as well as keeping abreast of global developments in e-payment systems.

RuPay is the first-of-its-kind global card payment network from India, with wide acceptance at shops, ATMs and online.

UPI is a system that powers multiple bank accounts into a single mobile application, merging several banking features, seamless fund routing and merchant payments into one hood. Its unique features include QR code and immediate money transfer through mobile device.