The commerce ministry said on Aug 29 that India and New Zealand are discussing the possibility of introducing the Unified Payments Interface in the island country in order to promote ease of doing business, trade, and tourism between the two countries. The two countries are also discussing ways to allow the import of New Zealand's wooden logs.

These issues were discussed during a bilateral meeting on August 28 in New Delhi between Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal and New Zealand's Minister for Trade and Export Growth Damien O'Connor.

"Ministers welcomed early discussions between National Payments Corporation of India and Payments NZ regarding the UPI system and agreed that both sides should continue deliberations on this issue. They agreed that introduction of UPI in New Zealand would promote ease of doing business between both the countries and promote trade and tourism as well," the ministry said.

The National Payments Corporation of India, the umbrella organisation that provides UPI services, signed a memorandum of understanding in 2022 with Lyra, France's fast and secure online payment system. In 2023, UPI and Singapore's PayNow signed an agreement that will allow users in both countries to conduct cross-border transactions. The UPI payment system has already been adopted by the UAE, Bhutan, and Nepal.

The NPCI International is in talks to expand UPI services in the United States, Europe, and West Asia.

"Ministers acknowledged the importance of improving air connectivity between New Zealand and India, and welcomed the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding to further liberalise the bilateral Air Services Agreement between the two countries," the statement continued.