MUMBAI: NTT Data Payment Services is working on linking India’s UPI with other fast payment systems across Asia through a hub-based architecture that could eliminate the need for multiple bilateral arrangements, senior executives said, outlining a strategy to simplify cross-border retail payments. The company launched Adaptis – its unified service brand for its digital payment suite across markets.Cross-border payments presently rely on one-to-one country links, slowed by regulatory and settlement gaps. NDPS instead builds a shared-switch layer with central banks or switching firms across Japan, Thailand, Malaysia, or India-linking domestic systems into a single interoperable network at scale.“We are moving from bilateral connections to a hub-based model,” said Shinichiro Nishikawa, head of global payments strategy, NTT Data. “Our aim is to connect local payment systems so that merchants and consumers can transact seamlessly across borders.”NTT Data entered India payments by acquiring Atom Technologies from 63Moons in 2018 and then built a unified platform serving merchants and aggregators.