India, Canada discuss UPI expansion, easier remittances for Indian students

India and Canada on Thursday discussed ways to expand the use of UPI in Canada and facilitate cross-border remittances and merchant payments as the two countries sought to deepen economic and financial ties.

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and her Canadian counterpart François-Philippe Champagne held the inaugural India-Canada Finance Ministers' Economic and Financial Dialogue, where they also discussed investment, fintech, financial stability, capital markets and critical minerals.

The dialogue builds on the commitment made by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney during their meeting in New Delhi in March to strengthen bilateral economic and financial cooperation.

The two sides also reaffirmed their shared commitment to conclude negotiations for a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) by the end of 2026.

India and Canada are aiming to expand bilateral trade to CAD 70 billion, or about ₹4.65 lakh crore, by 2030.

"India expressed its readiness to initiate negotiations on a Bilateral Investment Treaty at the earliest," Canada's Department of Finance said in a statement following the dialogue.

The ministers discussed ways to facilitate greater engagement between Indian and Canadian financial institutions and institutional investors, and explore commercially viable investment opportunities across sectors of mutual interest.

They also noted the substantial presence of Canadian pension funds and other institutional investors in India.

The two sides agreed to support engagement between relevant authorities and stakeholders on cross-border remittances and merchant payments.

They welcomed opportunities to broaden the use of Unified Payments Interface (UPI) in Canada through partnerships with payment service providers, saying this could help make payments faster, more efficient and cost-effective.

Speaking to reporters in Toronto after the dialogue, Sitharaman said the two countries had discussed how digital technologies could help improve payments.

"We are talking; our teams are going to be talking further, and adopting everything which helps in easier payment, cross-border remittances, and also within the country, multiple choices for digital payments so that citizens can benefit from it," she said.

Sitharaman also shared India's experience with direct benefit transfers during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Canadian Finance Minister Champagne said financial services offered one of the biggest opportunities for closer economic cooperation between the two countries.

"We are looking to have closer cooperation. We're looking to facilitate payments, for example, for students," he said.

"We know we have 400,000 Indian students. We know that the remittance could be around 45,000 Canadian dollars per student. So, we are committed, both myself and the Minister of Finance of India, to facilitate that," Champagne said.

He said easier remittances would provide "peace of mind" to parents in India whose children are studying in Canada.

"We're looking at a number of things to facilitate payment between Canada and India, to have more financial institutions operating in the Indian market," he said.

The two sides agreed to continue regular dialogue on economic and financial issues, with the next Economic and Financial Dialogue scheduled to take place in 2027.

Sitharaman arrived in Toronto on Tuesday on the first leg of her eight-day official trip to Canada and the US to further deepen bilateral ties.

During the US leg of her visit, Sitharaman will participate in the G20 Finance Ministers meeting in Asheville, North Carolina and hold a series of bilateral and business engagements.