Trinidad and Tobago is rolling out India’s UPI payment system. It would be the first Caribbean nation to adopt the technology.
Trinidad and Tobago is working to become the first Caribbean nation to adopt India’s Unified Payments Interface, the country’s High Commissioner to India, Chandradath Singh, said this week, describing the rollout as being pursued under a landmark agreement between NPCI International Payments Limited and Trinidad and Tobago’s Ministry of Digital Transformation. Singh made the remarks at an event in New Delhi marking the 50th anniversary of Trinidad and Tobago becoming a republic.
The initiative traces back to a strategic agreement signed in September 2024 between India’s National Payments Corporation, through its international arm NIPL, and Trinidad and Tobago’s Ministry of Digital Transformation, witnessed by Central Bank Governor Alvin Hilaire. Singh described the project as aiming to establish a real-time, efficient digital payment ecosystem in the Caribbean nation, reflecting India’s growing role in digital public infrastructure cooperation. He said the rollout remains underway, with implementation continuing on a gradual basis rather than a single nationwide launch.
UPI, developed by India’s National Payments Corporation, processes billions of transactions monthly within India and has already been adopted in several countries, including Sri Lanka, Mauritius, France, the United Arab Emirates, Singapore, Bhutan and Nepal. Supporters of the technology say it enables real-time, low-cost peer-to-peer and merchant payments through mobile devices, reducing reliance on cash. Singh also noted that India and Trinidad and Tobago are marking 64 years of diplomatic relations, and cited the historical connection between the two nations dating to the arrival of Indian indentured laborers in Trinidad 181 years ago, alongside the countries’ shared cricketing ties.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited Trinidad and Tobago in July 2025, the first bilateral visit by a sitting Indian prime minister since 1999, during which he announced Trinidad and Tobago would become the first Caribbean nation to adopt UPI. The visit also included the signing of six memorandums of understanding covering vocational training, digital finance and healthcare cooperation, and Modi was awarded the Order of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, the country’s highest civilian honor.
This report is based on information from ANI, WIC News, Open Magazine and Business Traveller.