A developing country built a payment system that developed nations are now adopting.

That sounds backwards. Rich countries export financial infrastructure to poor ones. Not the other way around. But that's exactly what India did with UPI.

UPI started as India's domestic payment rail. A way for Indians to send money without cash. Nothing revolutionary on the surface. But it processed over 14 billion transactions last month. Then it started crossing borders.

Singapore was first. PayNow linked directly to UPI — real-time transfers, no intermediary banks, no fees. I live in Singapore. I've watched Indian tourists pay at hawker centres with PhonePe. Scan, done. No credit card, no currency exchange. Then came the UAE — 60,000 retail outlets accepting UPI. France, Vietnam, Sri Lanka, Nepal followed. NPCI is targeting 20 countries by 2029.

Each new country validates the same thing. India's system is better than what they had. The country writing the playbook for digital payments isn't Silicon Valley. It's India.