jaspreet kalra

Using mobile phones to scan a QR code for payments has become near ubiquitous behaviour in India over the last decade, thanks to a widely used homegrown network, the Unified Payments Interface (UPI).

Alipay+'s proposal to link with India's instant payments system for cross-border transactions has been stalled due to national security concerns ‌in New Delhi and questions about the storage and use of customer data, three sources familiar with the discussions said.

India's rate setters signalled the possibility of rate hikes ahead even as they left interest rates unchanged at their policy meeting earlier this month, watching for evidence that supply-sparked inflation may be seeping into the broader ​economy, minutes of the committee's meeting released on Wednesday showed.

Strong inflows from a foreign deposit drive prompted ​the Indian central bank to cut short a zero-cost FX swap facility for banks, with policymakers also wary of the ‌domestic liquidity effects and the cost of such fundraising, analysts said.

The Indian rupee closed the week with losses against the dollar, with frequent dollar-selling interventions by ​the central bank curbing declines from the prolonged uncertainty from ‌the months-long Middle East conflict.

The Indian rupee ended modestly weaker on Thursday, weighed down by dollar outflows linked to ​derivative maturities and overseas debt repayments, while the central bank's ‌frequent interventions continued to drive volatility expectations lower.

The Indian rupee slipped to its weakest level in nearly two weeks on Tuesday as oil prices ​jumped on fading hopes for a U.S.-Iran deal to end ‌the war and reopen the Strait of Hormuz.

The Indian rupee ended little changed on Monday, wedged between firmer oil prices and likely intervention ​by the central bank, which traders reckon has started to deter ‌fresh short positions on the South Asian currency.

India's central ​bank is expected to keep interest rates unchanged this week, diverging from many of its global peers as inflation remains ‌modest despite higher global oil prices while steps to support the rupee drive strong inflows.

The Indian rupee ended stronger on Friday, with persistent central bank interventions boosting the currency to its ​strongest weekly gain since March.