‘UPI is eco system driven, deep-tech driven & greatly transformational’

India’s Unified Payments Interface (UPI), an instant real-time payment system developed by the National Payments Corporation of India, has taken the FinTech world by storm, the prime reason behind India’s advanced financial technology. Experts have acknowledged the same in a panel discussion organized by Mindgate Solutions Pvt. Ltd., a provider of payment technology and transaction processing, about the pathway to make real-time  UPI payments ubiquitous. The event took place in the presence of CXOs and thought leaders from the banking industry to discuss the growth of UPI transactions in India and the road ahead for digital innovation.

The panel discussion, moderated by Guhan Muthusamy, Co-Founder & Software Architect, Mindgate Solutions, focused on the topic of ‘How to Make Real-Time Payments Ubiquitous?’ and explored the challenges and opportunities presented by the rapid growth of UPI transactions in India. Amongst the panellists were Praveena Rai (COO, NPCI), Sandeep Ubale (CGM – Digital Transformation & E-commerce, SBI), Ramesh Lakshminarayanan,(CIO & Group Head-IT, HDFC Bank), Mahesh Ramamoorthy (CIO, Yes Bank), Sony A (CIO, South Indian Bank) and Jeremy Wilmot (Senior Advisor, ACI Worldwide). 

To drive UPI growth of users and usage, it is critical to continue to innovate with applications such as RuPay credit cards linked to UPI, UPI Lite and several such. The technology stack to ensure a seamless user experience is crucial

Praveena Rai, COO, NPCI

Praveena Rai, COO of NPCI said, “UPI is deeply ecosystem-driven and tech-driven driving transformation of the payment industry in India. To drive UPI growth of users and usage, it is critical to continue to innovate with applications such as RuPay credit cards linked to UPI, UPI Lite and several such. The technology stack to ensure a seamless user experience is crucial. Mindgate’s role as the first UPI switch and its continued development to keep up with the pace of growth in the industry is an important one.”

Ramesh Lakshminarayanan, CIO & Group Head-IT, HDFC Bank said, “UPI has been a game changer in the payment industry by bringing technology to the forefront and allowing ecosystems to grow without any inhibitions. One KPI month on month we focussed on is UPI Technical decline and it has yielded great results and customer satisfaction irrespective of issuing or acquiring transactions. The role of data will also be critical as UPI will continue to connect to other ecosystems and I feel Mindgate has the potential to be truly global beyond payments with the scale and deep tech expertise. CBDC, CBKonnect PFMS products for government business address critical needs of the bank and Mindgate is in for future partnership growth for HDFC. We look forward to our future partnership with Mindgate in the payment space.“

Sony A, CIO of South Indian Bank articulated, “South Indian Bank was one of the first banks to go live on UPI. Initially, UPI was only a support system but now it has become a necessity. We believe many banks and organisations will adopt this model, where they will have a single partner like we do with Mindgate and invest in their model in the future.” 

George Sam, Business Head and Co-Founder of Mindgate Solutions said, “India is at the forefront of the digital payments revolution, and we are excited to bring together top industry leaders to discuss the future of Real-time payments in this market. We believe that the insights and perspectives shared at this event will be invaluable for those looking to capitalise on the growth wave of digital payments in India.”

The world is moving towards real-time payments, and the key to success in this transition lies in the leadership of central banks, the adoption of overlay digital services while leveraging the benefits of the public cloud

Jeremy Wilmot, Senior Advisor, ACI Worldwide

“The world is moving towards real-time payments, and the key to success in this transition lies in the leadership of central banks, the adoption of overlay digital services while leveraging the benefits of the public cloud.  Open Banking, digital wallets, and digital ID systems are essential components as well as the use of Data and AI.  Countries like Brazil and the PIX system are seeing very high growth and adoption, but India is leading the pack with 40% of global real-time transactions. The ACI partnership with Mindgate has been instrumental in the success of Real-time payments and Mindgate is a world leader in digital transformation,” said Jeremy Wilmot. 

The panel discussion highlighted the challenges faced by financial institutions in adopting Real-time payments and how Mindgate Solutions has been instrumental in addressing these challenges. The panel also discussed how the use of digital platforms like UPI is going to change the way payments are made in India, and how this will lead to an increase in banking transactions and digital commerce.