2020年经济学人 印度金融——UPI(1)

When India was hit both by the failure of a big bank and a nationwide lockdown in March,

今年3月，当印度受到一家大银行倒闭和全国封锁的双重打击时，

bankers, fearing runs from rattled¹ depositors, rushed to stuff cash machines with notes.

由于担心储户挤兑，银行家们急忙往提款机里塞钞票。

In fact the demand for cash was relatively² subdued³. Activity hummed along the Unified⁴ Payment Interface⁵ (UPI),

事实上，对现金的需求相对较低。在电子支付网络—统一支付界面（UPI）上活跃的交易

an electronic-payments network that is on its way to becoming the country's financial lifeline.

正逐步成为印度的金融生命线。

In the past two years three big banks or shadow banks have imploded⁶.

在过去的两年里，三家大银行或影子银行已经破产。

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疫情对经济造成的严重破坏只会加重银行的不良贷款负担。在这种严峻的背景下，UPI脱颖而出。

In November Google wrote to the Federal Reserve urging it to endorse⁷ a similar model for America.

去年11月，谷歌致信美联储，敦促其支持美国的类似模式。

The Bank for International Settlements concluded in December that India's digital financial infrastructure⁸

12月国际清算银行总结称，印度的数字金融基础设施

has the "potential to transform emerging markets and advanced economies alike".

“具有改革新兴市场和发达经济体的潜力”。

Before UPI was set up in 2016, cash reigned⁹ supreme¹⁰. A large share of the population had no bank accounts, limiting card payments.

UPI成立于2016年，在此之前，现金是最重要的。很大一部分人没有银行账户，这限制了信用卡支付。

Now hungry passers-by can pay for snacks like dosas and vada pav from street vendors¹¹ using apps on their phones.

现在，饥肠辘辘的行人可以用手机上的应用程序从街头小贩那里购买薄饼和印度素食汉堡等小吃。

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13亿笔电子支付，超过了信用卡的支付量。

They accounted for 19% of banking¹² transactions in the year to March 2019.

在截至2019年3月的一年里，它们占银行交易的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 withdrawals¹³.

波士顿咨询公司的Saurabh Tripathi预测，两年内，电子支付将占交易量的59%——是ATM机提款份额的三倍。

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 collapse¹⁴ reflects the enormous drop in activity as the country shut down.

这种大崩溃反映了该国封锁后，经济活动的大幅下跌。

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月份的数据显示，信用卡交易量的降幅超过了数字支付，这表明UPI的市场份额仍在增长。

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向街头小贩进行紧急转账。一项新计划预计将于6月推出。

This will enable companies to give workers vouchers¹⁵ that can be redeemed¹⁶ by labs testing for covid-19.

该计划将使得公司能够向员工发放代金券，这些代金券可以通过covid-19检测实验室来兑现。

The payment system rests on the Aadhaar card, an identification system with which the fingerprints¹⁷ and irises¹⁸ of more than a billion Indians are registered.

支付系统依赖于Aadhaar 卡，这是一种识别系统，超过10亿印度人的指纹和虹膜都在此登记。

Take your card to a bank, as hundreds of millions of Indians have, and you can set up an account;

和数亿印度人一样，带着你的卡去银行，你可以在开一个账户；

you also become a "known customer", clearing a regulatory hurdle¹⁹. You can then, either through your bank or using various apps,

你也成为了一名“已知客户”，没有了监管障碍。然后，你可以通过你的银行或使用各种app，

send and receive funds instantly from anywhere in India.

从印度的任何地方立即收付资金。

1 rattled   

慌乱的，恼火的

参考例句：

• The truck jolted and rattled over the rough ground. 卡车嘎吱嘎吱地在凹凸不平的地面上颠簸而行。
• Every time a bus went past, the windows rattled. 每逢公共汽车经过这里，窗户都格格作响。

2 relatively   

adv.比较...地，相对地

参考例句：

• The rabbit is a relatively recent introduction in Australia.兔子是相对较新引入澳大利亚的物种。
• The operation was relatively painless.手术相对来说不痛。

3 subdued   

adj. 屈服的，柔和的，减弱的 动词subdue的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• He seemed a bit subdued to me. 我觉得他当时有点闷闷不乐。
• I felt strangely subdued when it was all over. 一切都结束的时候，我却有一种奇怪的压抑感。

4 unified   

(unify 的过去式和过去分词)； 统一的； 统一标准的； 一元化的

参考例句：

• The teacher unified the answer of her pupil with hers. 老师核对了学生的答案。
• The First Emperor of Qin unified China in 221 B.C. 秦始皇于公元前221年统一中国。

5 interface   

n.接合部位，分界面；v.(使)互相联系

参考例句：

• My computer has a network interface,which allows me to get to other computers.我的计算机有网络接口可以与其它计算机连在一起。
• This program has perspicuous interface and extensive application. 该程序界面明了，适用范围广。

6 imploded   

v.（使）向心聚爆( implode的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The economies of Brazil and Russia imploded in 1998. 巴西与俄罗斯的经济在1998年宣告破裂。 来自互联网
• A startling number of his nominees for senior positions have imploded. 他所提名的高级官员被否决的数目令人震惊。 来自互联网

7 endorse   

vt.(支票、汇票等)背书，背署；批注；同意

参考例句：

• No one is foolish enough to endorse it.没有哪个人会傻得赞成它。
• I fully endorse your opinions on this subject.我完全拥护你对此课题的主张。

8 infrastructure   

n.下部构造，下部组织，基础结构，基础设施

参考例句：

• We should step up the development of infrastructure for research.加强科学基础设施建设。
• We should strengthen cultural infrastructure and boost various types of popular culture.加强文化基础设施建设，发展各类群众文化。

9 reigned   

vi.当政，统治（reign的过去式形式）

参考例句：

• Silence reigned in the hall. 全场肃静。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• Night was deep and dead silence reigned everywhere. 夜深人静，一片死寂。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

10 supreme   

adj.极度的，最重要的；至高的，最高的

参考例句：

• It was the supreme moment in his life.那是他一生中最重要的时刻。
• He handed up the indictment to the supreme court.他把起诉书送交最高法院。

11 vendors   

n.摊贩( vendor的名词复数 )；小贩；（房屋等的）卖主；卖方

参考例句：

• The vendors were gazundered at the last minute. 卖主在最后一刻被要求降低房价。
• At the same time, interface standards also benefIt'software vendors. 同时，界面标准也有利于软件开发商。 来自About Face 3交互设计精髓

12 banking   

n.银行业，银行学，金融业

参考例句：

• John is launching his son on a career in banking.约翰打算让儿子在银行界谋一个新职位。
• He possesses an extensive knowledge of banking.他具有广博的银行业务知识。

13 withdrawals   

n.收回，取回，撤回( withdrawal的名词复数 )；撤退，撤走；收回[取回，撤回，撤退，撤走]的实例；推出（组织），提走（存款），戒除毒瘾，对说过的话收回，孤僻

参考例句：

• He has made several withdrawals from his bank account. 他从银行账户上提了几次款。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• It is not the bank's policy to deduct interest on withdrawals. 提款需扣除利息这并非是本银行的政策。 来自辞典例句

14 collapse   

vi.累倒；昏倒；倒塌；塌陷

参考例句：

• The country's economy is on the verge of collapse.国家的经济已到了崩溃的边缘。
• The engineer made a complete diagnosis of the bridge's collapse.工程师对桥的倒塌做了一次彻底的调查分析。

15 vouchers   

n.凭证( voucher的名词复数 )；证人；证件；收据

参考例句：

• These vouchers are redeemable against any future purchase. 这些优惠券将来购物均可使用。
• This time we were given free vouchers to spend the night in a nearby hotel. 这一次我们得到了在附近一家旅馆入住的免费券。 来自英语晨读30分（高二）

16 redeemed   

adj. 可赎回的，可救赎的 动词redeem的过去式和过去分词形式

参考例句：

• She has redeemed her pawned jewellery. 她赎回了当掉的珠宝。
• He redeemed his watch from the pawnbroker's. 他从当铺赎回手表。

17 fingerprints   

n.指纹( fingerprint的名词复数 )v.指纹( fingerprint的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• Everyone's fingerprints are unique. 每个人的指纹都是独一无二的。
• They wore gloves so as not to leave any fingerprints behind (them). 他们戴着手套，以免留下指纹。 来自《简明英汉词典》

18 irises   

n.虹( iris的名词复数 )；虹膜；虹彩；鸢尾（花）

参考例句：

• The cottage gardens blaze with irises, lilies and peonies. 村舍花园万紫千红，鸢尾、百合花和牡丹竞相争艳。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The irises were of flecked grey. 虹膜呈斑驳的灰色。 来自《简明英汉词典》

19 hurdle   

n.跳栏，栏架；障碍，困难；vi.进行跨栏赛

参考例句：

• The weather will be the biggest hurdle so I have to be ready.天气将会是最大的障碍，所以我必须要作好准备。
• She clocked 11.6 seconds for the 80 metre hurdle.八十米跳栏赛跑她跑了十一秒六。