NPCI International Payments Ltd (NIPL), the international arm of the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI), has partnered with a United Arab Emirates (UAE)-based payment solutions provider to offer Unified Payments Interface (UPI) as a transaction method for Indians visiting the West Asian country.
The collaboration with fintech firm Magnati will enable QR-based UPI merchant payments through point-of-sale (POS) terminals across the UAE.
The partnership is expected to serve over 12 million Indians travelling to the UAE, including Dubai, annually. In December alone, UPI processed more than 16 billion transactions in India.
Initially, UPI acceptance will be available at Dubai Duty Free.
“This collaboration will pave the way for future expansion across key merchant categories, including retail, hospitality, transport, and supermarkets,” NIPL said in a statement.
NPCI operates India’s real-time payments system, UPI.
“This aligns with our vision of providing Indians with a global digital payments acceptance network and enhancing their payment experience abroad. Furthermore, it paves the way for broader economic and cultural connections between India and the UAE,” said Ritesh Shukla, chief executive officer (CEO), NIPL.
Currently, UPI payments are accepted in seven countries, including Bhutan, Mauritius, Nepal, Singapore, Sri Lanka, and France. More than 20 apps, including BHIM, PhonePe, Paytm, and Google Pay, support international transactions.
In December, Shukla revealed that NIPL is working with countries such as the UAE and Mauritius to help develop a card scheme similar to RuPay.
NIPL is also targeting international use cases such as peer-to-peer (P2P) and peer-to-merchant (P2M) transactions, mirroring UPI’s offerings in India. For P2P transactions, NIPL employs a two-pronged strategy involving bilateral and multilateral efforts.
The multilateral approach includes initiatives like Project Nexus, under the Bank for International Settlements (BIS).
The BIS Innovation Hub, in collaboration with central banks of India, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, and Thailand, is working on connecting instant payment systems (IPS) of different countries through Project Nexus.