The Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) is in advanced talks to use the technology behind India's Unified Payments Interface (UPI) as the base of a new national digital payments system, with 31 October set as the deadline for a deal.

RBZ Governor John Mushayavanhu told The Herald that no agreement had been reached yet. The talks are with NPCI International Payments Limited, the overseas arm of the National Payments Corporation of India, which runs UPI. Mushayavanhu first disclosed the talks to Bloomberg earlier this month, Moneycontrol reported.

What it would do

The plan is a shared set of payment "rails" that banks, mobile money operators, fintechs and other regulated providers can all plug into, so money moves between them in real time.

"Despite technological advances, payments remain slow, fragmented and costly," Mushayavanhu told The Herald. He said the platform "will complement, not replace" the country's existing payment systems, and that cheaper digital payments are one of its main aims.

Under the proposal, a shopper could scan one QR code at a participating business and pay from any supported bank account or mobile wallet, whichever provider they use, The Herald reported. Small traders could display a single QR code instead of several. Mushayavanhu said the system would sit under the RBZ's existing QR-code rules rather than compete with them.

He described the goal as a domestic instant-payments network "much like roads, dams and power grids".

Why it matters

Zimbabweans already pay digitally on a large scale, but moving money between different banks and wallets is often slow and costly. India Narrative, citing national figures, says the payment system handled 238 million electronic transactions in the last quarter of 2025, with mobile money making up about 87 percent of them.

Mushayavanhu also told Bloomberg that more digital payments would give the government better data on what small and medium-sized businesses contribute to the economy, according to Moneycontrol.

Zimbabwe would not be first in the region. NPCI International signed a deal with the Bank of Namibia in May 2024 to help build a UPI-style system, and has similar agreements in Peru and Trinidad and Tobago, Moneycontrol reported. UPI handled about 49 percent of the world's real-time payment volumes in 2025, according to Indian government figures quoted by Moneycontrol.

For people in the diaspora, the Harare business site The Djeuce notes that cross-border payments and remittances were mentioned only as something that could follow later. They are not part of the first phase.

What we don't know yet

Whether a deal will be signed by 31 October. That date is a target for ending talks, not a launch date.

The cost, the timetable and any fees for users.

How the new system would work alongside ZIPIT, the existing interbank transfer service run by Zimswitch, and who would operate it. The Djeuce raised both questions.

Zimbo Grapevine will update this story if an agreement is announced.

Sources: The Herald (Debra Matabvu), 26 Oct 2026: https://www.heraldonline.co.zw/rbz-to-introduce-a-new-platform-for-digital-payments/ · Moneycontrol (reporting Bloomberg interview), 6 Oct 2026: https://www.moneycontrol.com/news/business/zimbabwe-eyes-india-s-upi-tech-for-national-payments-network-npci-talks-may-wrap-by-october-31-14045247.html · The Djeuce, Oct 2026: https://thedjeuce.co.zw/articles/zimbabwe-upi-instant-payments-rbz-npci/ · India Narrative, Oct 2026: https://www.indianarrative.com/tech/how-zimbabwe-can-use-indias-stack-to-rewire-african-payments/

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