India's UPI system eyed as model for South Africa's cashless push

South African Reserve Bank Governor Lesetja Kganyago said the country's move toward a cash‑less economy could draw on India's Unified Payments Interface (UPI), describing it as a fast, low‑cost real‑time payment model. South Africa is developing a free, real‑time national payment system to cut cash transactions, but faces challenges such as 43 % of adults lacking bank accounts, limited internet access in rural areas, high mobile data costs and frequent power cuts.

UPI underpins roughly half of the world’s real‑time transactions and has already expanded beyond India through NPCI partnerships to Singapore, the United Arab Emirates, Mauritius, France and to neighboring Nepal and Bhutan. Discussions are underway with central banks and fintech firms across Africa and Europe to extend the platform further.