DPI Transforms Digital Finance: Global Payments Surge
Digital Public Infrastructure is not just for emerging economies.
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HAND-CURATED FOR YOU
The Cambridge Centre for Alternative Finance (CCAF) just dropped one of the best reports out on “Digital Public Infrastructure” (DPI) and its breathtaking role in transforming financial services.
DPI is well known for its work transforming payments in both Brazil and India, where it is responsible for increasing financial inclusion, competition, and financial stability.
It is generally considered to be built on three core components: digital identity, real-time payments, and consent-based data sharing. These come from India’s “India stack” model and far more components are possible, including lending and marketplaces.
What is interesting is that these three core components are key to digital finance. For example, debit or credit card ownership rises from 25% in countries with one DPI component to 77% in those with all three.
Similarly, digital payment usage rises from 45% to 83%, and the share of adults citing lack of documentation as a barrier to account ownership falls from 19% to 7%.
If this sounds like a big win for DPI, it certainly is. Still, there is no magic formula that can be applied in cookie-cutter fashion to all nations.
Brazil and India’s UPI and PIX are the most famous examples of DPI payment systems, but are very different at the core. UPI is a private sector-government collaboration, while PIX was regulator-driven.
For the best comparison I’ve ever seen between Brazil’s Pix and India’s UPI go to Table 6, page 32,
A big misconception about DPI is that DPI is for emerging economies not advanced economies.
Nothing could be further from the truth, and the US’s FedNow real-time gross settlement payment system is a good example of DPI in an advanced nation.
DPI is also mistakenly seen as a domestic affair, but with UPI and PIX payments now being used cross-border, it is rapidly going international.
DPI is great tech in all its forms, and we need more of it.
Oh, and by the way, CBDCs are DPI, stablecoins are not.
👉Highlights
🔹 DPI integration is reshaping financial services
Digital identity, real-time payments and consent-based data sharing are increasingly embedded in DFS, enhancing efficiency, reducing costs and expanding financial inclusion. With 113 jurisdictions adopting at least one DPI component and 56 implementing all 3, the convergence marks a global shift, but it also introduces new challenges in governance, security and interoperability.
🔹 Global expansion, local differences
DPI is being adopted worldwide, but its definition and implementation vary widely. A clear taxonomy of digital identity, payments and data sharing is essential to support aligned policymaking, promote interoperability and enable the scalable development of inclusive digital ecosystems.
🔹 Greater DPI maturity tends to coincide with better financial outcomes
Jurisdictions with all 3 DPI components see higher financial inclusion: card ownership jumps from 25% to 77%, digital payments from 45% to 83%, and documentation barriers to account ownership fall sharply. DPI maturity also appears to be linked to improved access to credit, government transfers and emergency financial resilience.
🔹 No one-size-fits-all, multiple models can succeed
Global case studies show varied but effective DPI implementation strategies. India’s public-private UPI model and Brazil’s regulator-led Pix both demonstrate how co-ordinated approaches, whether government- or industry-driven, can drive inclusion, innovation and trust in financial systems.
🔹 New technologies bring new risks and rewards
Innovations such as AI, tokenisation and digital wallets promise greater efficiency through automation and programmability, but they also raise significant concerns around data privacy, market concentration and systemic risk, making proactive and co-ordinated regulation more important than ever.
🔹 Governance must evolve for cross-sector co-ordination
DPI spans multiple regulatory domains, creating risks of fragmentation. National co-ordination bodies, cross-border forums and public-private partnerships are emerging as vital tools to balance privacy, competition and security in an increasingly integrated financial ecosystem.
🔹 Public-private partnerships are foundational to DPI success
Fintechs and platform providers are not just users but key co-creators of DPI components like digital identity and data sharing. Collaborative design, innovation and implementation between governments and industry can lower barriers, enhance interoperability and accelerate inclusive service delivery at scale.
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