During a high-level commissionerate meeting, the potential of a partnership between India and New Zealand was acknowledged, emphasising the importance of fostering synergy to strengthen their economic relations. The discussions primarily revolved around facilitating the Unified Payment Interface (UPI) system, promoting technological collaboration, and enhancing cooperation in banking-related matters. The meeting was co-chaired by representatives from India's Department of Commerce, Shri Rajesh Agarwal, and the High Commissioner of New Zealand in India, Shri David Pine. Both officials underscored the significance of establishing an operational framework that would benefit both nations mutually. Representatives from various Indian industries, including IT and ITeS, actively participated in the meeting, providing valuable insights on bilateral issues. They highlighted the vast potential and opportunities for collaboration between the two economies, emphasising the need for sustained interactions. The UPI system, developed under India's Digital India initiative and managed by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), enables users to access multiple bank accounts through a single mobile application. Recognizing the value of this innovative system, both countries agreed to explore avenues beyond a free trade agreement to complement each other in diverse areas. India has been proactively collaborating with several countries to promote digital payments. Earlier this year, the RBI and the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) successfully linked Singapore's PayNow and India's UPI, facilitating real-time cross-border transactions. This pioneering linkage, utilising a scalable cloud-based infrastructure, represents the world's first-ever real-time payment systems connection and includes a non-bank financial institution as a participant. The MAS and RBI have plans to expand the linkage by incorporating more participating financial institutions and expanding the applicable use cases in the future.