The Reserve Bank of India and the European Central Bank have begun the first phase of linking India’s Unified Payments Interface with Europe’s TARGET Instant Payment Settlement system, marking a major step toward enabling real time, low cost transfers between India and the Euro area.
Both central banks confirmed that the project has entered the realisation phase, during which technical integration, settlement design, security protocols and risk management frameworks will be finalised. Once operational, the linkage is expected to allow users in India and Europe to send and receive money instantly across borders.
The initiative forms part of India’s broader effort to internationalise UPI and expand its presence in global payment networks. For Europe, the collaboration supports the Eurosystem’s push to modernise cross border remittances and streamline digital payment infrastructure.
Officials say the UPI–TIPS link has the potential to significantly reduce transaction costs and processing times for a wide range of users, including migrant workers, travellers, exporters, small businesses and multinational firms operating between the two regions. It may also support euro denominated merchant payments and business to business transactions.
While the move marks important progress, both central banks emphasised that further work is required before the system can go live. Technical testing, regulatory alignment and operational readiness assessments will continue in the coming months.
The successful integration of UPI and TIPS would represent one of the first large scale real time payment connections between India and Europe, potentially transforming the India–EU remittance and trade corridor.
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