Datanomics: Remittances to India from Aus, Saudi cost double the UN target | Economy & Policy News

Prime Minister Narendra Modi recently said India’s next fintech priority should be to connect the Unified Payments Interface (UPI) with more countries and reduce the cost of remittances for Indians living abroad. This focus reflects the growing importance of remittances to India. Personal remittances accounted for over 3 per cent of gross domestic product in 2025. This figure was the highest among the world’s six largest economies. In terms of value, remittances above $500 held the highest share, while by number of transactions, remittances under $200 were the most common. This makes the United Nations’ (UN’s) goal of bringing the average cost of sending $200 down to 3 per cent or less of the remittance value by 2030 critical. Among the top 10 source countries, six remained above this target in the third quarter of 2025, with costs in Australia and Saudi Arabia double that mark. Of the ten countries shown on Chart 1, India has a UPI link with just three: the UAE, Singapore, and Qatar. Payments made through UPI fall under the RDA/Vostro Accounts category, which has the highest share in sending remittances. The recent UPI fee move would not affect personal remittances shown on chart 3.