Peru set to adopt India’s UPI model by next year, opening a new chapter in global digital payments

Peru is set to introduce a UPI-like real-time digital payments system by next year, the country’s Ambassador to India, Javier Manuel Paulinich Velarde, confirmed on Tuesday. The rollout follows a partnership between NPCI International Payments Limited (NIPL) and the Central Reserve Bank of Peru (BCRP), first announced in 2024, marking a major step towards modernizing Peru’s financial ecosystem. Once launched, Peru will become the first South American nation to adopt India’s UPI-based model.

Ambassador Velarde described the technology as “magnificent” and said teams of experts have been working in Peru to prepare the system for nationwide use. He noted that the platform will boost financial inclusion and make digital payments accessible to Peru’s large unbanked population. The new system will allow individuals and businesses to make instant, secure digital payments, similar to how millions of people in India use UPI every day.

For India, the project strengthens its growing role as a global exporter of digital public infrastructure. UPI, created by the National Payments Corporation of India, now facilitates over a billion transactions a day, making it one of the world’s most successful low-cost digital payment systems. By supporting Peru, India expands its influence across Latin America and opens opportunities for Indian fintech companies to collaborate, innovate, and enter new markets.

Although countries like Brazil, Argentina, and Chile already have strong digital payment ecosystems, Peru will be the first to officially adopt India’s indigenous UPI framework. Brazil’s popular PIX system is often compared with UPI, but it is a domestically built platform developed by the Central Bank of Brazil and not connected to India’s technology. Peru’s system, however, is being implemented directly in partnership with NPCI International, which is why it becomes the first South American country to use a UPI-based model.

Internet access in Peru has also improved steadily in recent years, with mobile internet penetration now above 85 percent. This provides a strong foundation for digital payments to scale quickly across the country, including in urban hubs like Lima, Cusco, and Arequipa. The Peruvian government sees UPI-style payments as a way to rapidly connect remote communities to the formal economy while reducing cash dependence.

The entry of a UPI-like system will also reshape Peru’s financial industry. While existing banks and payment companies may initially worry about reduced transaction fees, global trends show that such platforms usually expand the overall digital economy. Banks benefit from higher customer engagement, fintech partnerships grow, and merchants enjoy faster transactions at lower costs. Instead of replacing existing systems, UPI-style platforms often integrate with them, creating a wider and more competitive digital payments network.

As Peru prepares for its rollout next year, the collaboration with India signals a larger shift in how nations are adopting digital public infrastructure. Countries across Asia, the Gulf, and Europe have already partnered with India for either UPI linkages or technology sharing. Peru’s move now positions South America on the same path, marking a notable moment in India’s global digital outreach.