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The European Central Bank (ECB) has begun work to interlink the Eurosystem’s Target Instant Payment Settlement (TIPS) platform with India’s Unified Payments Interface (UPI) and several real-time payment systems across Asia, marking a major step toward seamless cross-border payments.
The initiative aligns with the ECB’s broader objective of simplifying international transactions for businesses and consumers in Europe, including lower-cost and faster remittance flows. It follows the positive outcomes of exploratory assessments launched in October 2024 with Indian and Asian payment interfaces.
The ECB confirms that it is now entering the “realisation phase” for TIPS–UPI interconnection, which includes finalising legal frameworks and implementing the required technical infrastructure. UPI, one of the world’s largest instant payment networks, plays a significant role given India’s position among the top ten destinations for euro-area remittances.
Parallel work will also begin with Nexus Global Payments—a multilateral scheme designed to connect fast payment systems across several Asian economies. At launch, Nexus aims to link the real-time payment rails of Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and India, creating a unified framework for low-cost, high-speed international transfers.
Looking ahead, the ECB says its long-term vision is to expand these interlinkages to more currency corridors. Ongoing exploratory work with Swiss Interbank Clearing is cited as one of the next potential pathways.
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