Zimbabwe moves towards India-backed single QR payments network

The Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe is negotiating to use India’s UPI technology as the backbone for a real-time national payments system linking banks, mobile wallets and fintechs.

Zimbabwe’s central bank is in advanced talks to build a national digital payments system on India’s Unified Payments Interface, in a move that could reshape how consumers and businesses move money across the country.

Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe Governor John Mushayavanhu told The Herald that the bank is negotiating with NPCI International Payments Ltd, the overseas arm of India’s National Payments Corporation, to use UPI as the technical base for what the authorities call the National Payments Digital Public Infrastructure. No deal has been signed yet, but the central bank has set 31 October as the deadline for concluding discussions.

Mushayavanhu said the aim is not to displace the existing payments network but to knit it together. The proposed system would create shared, real-time rails connecting banks, mobile money operators, payment service providers, fintech firms and other regulated players. In practice, that could allow shoppers to use one QR code at participating merchants regardless of which bank account or wallet they hold, and transfer money instantly between different providers without having to move through separate channels.

The central bank says the model would also give users a single payment identity, such as a mobile number, email address or digital ID, instead of forcing them to remember multiple account numbers. Mushayavanhu described the concept as national infrastructure in the same way as roads, dams and power grids, while cautioning that it is too early to promise lower fees. He said it would be premature to guarantee any specific cut in customer charges before the rollout is complete.