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When India was hit both by the failure of a big bank and a nationwide lockdown in March,
今年3月，當印度受到一家大銀行倒閉和全國封鎖的雙重打擊時，
bankers, fearing runs from rattled depositors, rushed to stuff cash machines with notes.
由于擔心儲戶擠兌，銀行家們急忙往提款機里塞鈔票。
In fact the demand for cash was relatively subdued. Activity hummed along the Unified Payment Interface (UPI),
事實上，對現金的需求相對較低。在電子支付網絡—統一支付界面（UPI）上活躍的交易
an electronic-payments network that is on its way to becoming the country's financial lifeline.
正逐步成為印度的金融生命線。
In the past two years three big banks or shadow banks have imploded.
在過去的兩年里，三家大銀行或影子銀行已經破產。
The severe economic disruption caused by covid-19 will only make lenders' burden of bad loans heavier. Against this grim backdrop, UPI has shone.
Covid-19疫情對經濟造成的嚴重破壞只會加重銀行的不良貸款負擔。在這種嚴峻的背景下，UPI脫穎而出。
In November Google wrote to the Federal Reserve urging it to endorse a similar model for America.
去年11月，谷歌致信美聯儲，敦促其支持美國的類似模式。
The Bank for International Settlements concluded in December that India's digital financial infrastructure
12月國際清算銀行總結稱，印度的數字金融基礎設施
has the "potential to transform emerging markets and advanced economies alike".
“具有改革新興市場和發達經濟體的潛力”。
Before UPI was set up in 2016, cash reigned supreme. A large share of the population had no bank accounts, limiting card payments.
UPI成立于2016年，在此之前，現金是最重要的。很大一部分人沒有銀行賬戶，這限制了信用卡支付。
Now hungry passers-by can pay for snacks like dosas and vada pav from street vendors using apps on their phones.
現在，饑腸轆轆的行人可以用手機上的應用程序從街頭小販那里購買薄餅和印度素食漢堡等小吃。
At the start of 2020 nearly 1.3bn electronic payments were made each month, more than those using plastic.
2020年初，印度每月有近13億筆電子支付，超過了信用卡的支付量。
They accounted for 19% of banking transactions in the year to March 2019.
在截至2019年3月的一年里，它們占銀行交易的19%。
Saurabh Tripathi of the Boston Consulting Group predicts that they will account for 59% of transactions within two years—three times the share of ATM withdrawals.
波士頓咨詢公司的Saurabh Tripathi預測，兩年內，電子支付將占交易量的59%——是ATM機提款份額的三倍。
UPI usage dipped for the first time in March; that was followed by a fall of 20% in April.
3月，UPI使用量首次下降；4月份又下降了20%。
The collapse reflects the enormous drop in activity as the country shut down.
這種大崩潰反映了該國封鎖后，經濟活動的大幅下跌。
Data for March suggest that the number of credit-card transactions fell further than that of digital payments, suggesting that UPI still gained market share.
3月份的數據顯示，信用卡交易量的降幅超過了數字支付，這表明UPI的市場份額仍在增長。
The government has also used UPI to make emergency transfers to street vendors. A new programme is expected to be rolled out in June.
政府也在使用UPI向街頭小販進行緊急轉賬。一項新計劃預計將于6月推出。
This will enable companies to give workers vouchers that can be redeemed by labs testing for covid-19.
該計劃將使得公司能夠向員工發放代金券，這些代金券可以通過covid-19檢測實驗室來兌現。
The payment system rests on the Aadhaar card, an identification system with which the fingerprints and irises of more than a billion Indians are registered.
支付系統依賴于Aadhaar 卡，這是一種識別系統，超過10億印度人的指紋和虹膜都在此登記。
Take your card to a bank, as hundreds of millions of Indians have, and you can set up an account;
和數億印度人一樣，帶著你的卡去銀行，你可以在開一個賬戶；
you also become a "known customer", clearing a regulatory hurdle. You can then, either through your bank or using various apps,
你也成為了一名“已知客戶”，沒有了監管障礙。然后，你可以通過你的銀行或使用各種app，
send and receive funds instantly from anywhere in India.
從印度的任何地方立即收付資金。
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