How UPI Is Powering India's Global Digital Strategy — Tech Diplomacy, Remittance, and Fintech Leader
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| UPI’s global rise: India’s real-time payments system expands across continents — from tourism hubs to remittance corridors. |
UPI Goes Global: India’s Digital Payments as Economic Diplomacy and Tech Export Strategy
Table of Contents
- Introduction: Beyond Borders — UPI as India’s Soft Power
- Understanding UPI: Architecture, Evolution & Strengths
- What is UPI & how does it work?
- Evolution of UPI: From 2016 to present
- Core strengths and differentiators
- Why Export UPI?: Strategic Imperatives
- Reducing remittance costs & enhancing forex flows
- Building a payments “network effect” around India
- Technological sovereignty and branding
- Complementing India’s global economic & diplomatic ties
- Global Footprint: Where Is UPI Today?
- Countries with UPI / UPI-like adoption
- Cross‑border linkage models (PayNow, PromptPay, etc.)
- Recent announcements: PayPal, Japan, Africa & beyond
- Economic & Financial Impacts: Data & Analysis
- Remittances and cost reductions
- Impact on current account & balance of payments
- Effects on fintech ecosystem, merchant adoption, and financial inclusion
- Challenges, Risks & Mitigation
- Regulatory & sovereign concerns
- Interoperability, security and fraud risks
- Currency / FX settlement complexity
- Adoption inertia and local incumbents
- Opinion & Insights: How India Should Strategize Forward
- Layer‑by‑layer export plan
- Prioritize partner countries and corridors
- Modular / open architecture vs walled garden
- Building trust, standards, and ecosystem partnerships
- Conclusion: UPI as an Economic Force Multiplier
- Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
- References & Further Reading
1. Introduction: Beyond Borders — UPI as India’s Soft Power
India’s Unified Payments Interface (UPI) is rapidly evolving from a domestic digital innovation into a powerful instrument of economic diplomacy and soft power. What began in 2016 as a real-time, peer-to-peer mobile payments platform has grown into a symbol of India’s fintech prowess — and now, it's crossing borders.
UPI has revolutionized how over a billion Indians transact daily, offering instant payments with zero fees, simple QR code scans, and interoperability across banks and apps. But in recent years, the Indian government and fintech stakeholders have set their sights higher: taking UPI global.
At the 2025 Global Fintech Fest in Mumbai, a landmark announcement made waves — PayPal integrated UPI into its international platform. This wasn’t just a tech partnership; it was a validation of UPI’s global relevance. In parallel, Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal’s launch of UPI in Qatar marked another milestone — showcasing UPI not as just digital plumbing for India’s economy, but as a strategic export, akin to how countries promote their defense or space technologies.
From Singapore to the UAE, France to Mauritius, countries are starting to recognize UPI’s potential for low-cost remittances, financial inclusion, and real-time settlements. As India pushes for integration with over 20 countries by 2029, UPI is no longer just a product of the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) — it’s a global brand.
In this blog, we’ll unpack how UPI’s expansion is shaping global payments, supporting India’s diaspora, and influencing international fintech standards. We’ll also examine the challenges ahead — from regulatory hurdles to digital infrastructure gaps — and what India must do to sustain this momentum.
UPI isn’t just a payment system anymore. It’s India's most scalable soft power tool.
2. Understanding UPI: Architecture, Evolution & Strengths
India’s Unified Payments Interface, or UPI, is no longer just a domestic marvel. It's a robust, scalable digital infrastructure that's positioning India at the forefront of global fintech. To truly understand UPI’s global push, we need to look under the hood — at how it works, how it has evolved, and why it stands out from the rest.
2.1 What is UPI & How Does It Work?
The Unified Payments Interface (UPI), launched in 2016 by the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI), is a real-time, peer-to-peer (P2P) and person-to-merchant (P2M) payment system that allows users to send and receive money instantly through Virtual Payment Addresses (VPAs) — no need for bank account numbers or IFSC codes.
At its core, UPI is a sophisticated backend system that offers a seamless front-end experience. Users simply link their bank account to a UPI app like PhonePe, Google Pay, Paytm, or BHIM, and transact with a few taps.
Key Architectural Features:
- Central Clearing and Settlement System: Although payments appear instant to users, actual net settlement happens through a centralized mechanism, ensuring systemic integrity.
- Open API Ecosystem: NPCI provides APIs that enable banks, fintech startups, and wallet providers to build their own UPI apps — creating a competitive and innovative environment.
- Autopay and Recurring Payments: UPI supports mandates and scheduled payments, making it ideal for subscriptions, EMIs, and utility bills.
- QR Code Integration: Merchants can accept payments via dynamic or static QR codes, turning even the smallest vendors into digital merchants.
- Scalability by Design: UPI’s modular, decentralized architecture means it can scale across millions of daily transactions without slowing down.
Thanks to its mobile-first, API-driven approach, UPI hides the complexity of traditional banking and offers a frictionless user experience. The result? Money moves as easily as sending a text message.
2.2 Evolution of UPI: From 2016 to Present
UPI has undergone significant evolution since its launch — transforming from a basic P2P payments app to a full-fledged digital commerce infrastructure.
- 2016: UPI debuted with 21 banks. Initially, adoption was slow.
- Demonetization acted as a catalyst, accelerating UPI’s adoption dramatically across India.
- 2018–2019: Launch of UPI 2.0, which introduced overdraft accounts, invoice support, and one-time mandates.
- 2021–2022: Rollout of UPI Autopay, UPI Lite (for low-value offline payments), and credit-on-UPI — enabling integration with credit lines.
- 2023 onwards: Focus shifted towards cross-border payments.
- Linking with global payment systems like Singapore’s PayNow, the UAE’s Aani, Mauritius, and France.
- Strategic MoUs with Google Pay, PayPal, and integration into their global networks.
- Formation of NIPL (NPCI International Payments Ltd) to lead international expansion.
By FY 2028–29, the RBI and NPCI aim to expand UPI to over 20 countries, enabling seamless cross-border payments, remittance corridors, and tourist transactions.
This global ambition signals that UPI is no longer just domestic infrastructure — it’s a strategic tech export.
2.3 Core Strengths and Differentiators
What makes UPI globally exportable? Why are countries showing interest in adopting or integrating it? Let’s explore the strengths that make UPI a world-class digital payments platform.
🚀 1. Speed & Affordability
UPI enables instant fund transfers, 24/7, without hefty fees. Unlike SWIFT or traditional banking, there's no delay or middleman markup. This is especially valuable in the remittance market, where high costs eat into migrant earnings.
🔄 2. Open and Interoperable
Unlike many “walled garden” ecosystems (e.g., Apple Pay or WeChat Pay), UPI’s open architecture encourages innovation. Any bank, fintech, or wallet can join the ecosystem — ensuring broad adoption and competition.
📈 3. Unmatched Adoption
UPI processes over 640 million transactions per day (surpassing even Visa’s global average). With more than 400 million users and millions of merchants on board, it’s deeply entrenched in India's financial fabric.
🏦 4. Government Backing & Regulatory Support
With strong support from the Reserve Bank of India and the Ministry of Finance, UPI enjoys credibility and trust. This backing reassures international regulators and partners.
🧱 5. Scalable & Flexible Infrastructure
Whether it’s adding features like credit integration, voice-enabled transactions, or cross-border modules, UPI’s modular build allows seamless upgrades and regional customization.
🌍 6. Strategic Diplomatic Leverage
UPI is increasingly part of India’s digital diplomacy toolkit. Its rollout in countries with large Indian diasporas helps streamline remittances, tourism payments, and bilateral trade — deepening economic ties.
These features — scalability, openness, speed, and trust — make UPI not just a product, but a platform. It’s more than a financial utility; it’s a symbol of India’s digital capabilities and an economic asset with real geopolitical weight.
As UPI journeys beyond Indian borders, it carries the promise of a faster, cheaper, and more inclusive financial future — not just for India, but for partner nations as well.
3.Why Export UPI?: Strategic Imperatives
India’s push to globalize the Unified Payments Interface (UPI) goes far beyond just enabling digital payments overseas. It represents a multi-dimensional strategy that combines economic foresight, technological leadership, financial inclusion, and diplomatic outreach. As the world becomes more digital and interconnected, India sees UPI as a key vehicle to elevate its global economic presence — while simultaneously solving some of its own strategic challenges.
Let’s explore why India is investing so heavily in exporting its indigenous payments platform.
3.1 Reducing Remittance Costs & Enhancing Forex Flows
India is the world’s largest recipient of remittances, and this trend shows no signs of slowing down. In FY 2024–25, remittance inflows reached an all-time high of USD 135.46 billion, according to the World Bank and India’s Finance Ministry. However, a significant portion of these inflows is eroded by the high fees imposed by traditional remittance channels — banks, Money Transfer Operators (MTOs), and forex providers — which often charge 3% to 5% in markups and hidden charges.
By enabling cross-border payments via UPI-linked corridors, India can significantly reduce these costs. Platforms like UPI + PayNow (Singapore) or UPI + PromptPay (Thailand) already demonstrate that instant, low-fee international transactions are not just possible — they are scalable.
Benefits include:
- More remittance value reaching Indian households, enhancing disposable income
- Increased foreign exchange inflows into Indian financial systems
- Higher volume of remittance transfers as transaction friction is lowered
- Increased pressure on global remittance players to lower fees
According to an RBI estimate, a 1% drop in remittance fees could lead to a 1.6% increase in remittance volume. This makes UPI a critical tool in India's quest to optimize its balance of payments and reduce the current account deficit.
3.2 Building a Payments “Network Effect” Anchored in India
The globalization of UPI isn’t just about reducing costs — it’s about creating a powerful network effect. Much like how Visa and Mastercard built their dominance through widespread merchant adoption, India wants UPI to become the go-to platform for digital payments across key geographies, especially in countries with large Indian diaspora populations — like the UAE, UK, US, and Southeast Asia.
Once adopted widely, UPI can:
- Generate recurring cross-border transaction and settlement fees
- Act as a base for other fintech layers — microloans, digital wallets, insurance, and more
- Embed Indian standards into international digital finance ecosystems
- Provide India leverage in global fintech governance and payment standard-setting
The more nations integrate UPI, the stronger India’s control over a digital payment infrastructure that could compete with or complement legacy systems like SWIFT, SEPA, and card networks.
3.3 Technological Sovereignty and Brand Building
Most global payment systems today — Visa, Mastercard, SWIFT — originate from Western nations. UPI gives India the chance to not only offer an alternative but also assert technological sovereignty on the global stage.
By exporting UPI, India promotes:
- Indigenous technology innovation
- Reduced dependency on Western systems
- A neutral and open standard for developing nations
Moreover, as countries adopt or emulate UPI-like models, India earns significant brand equity. It reinforces the global message: India can build scalable, secure, and cutting-edge infrastructure for the world. This elevates India’s position as a leader not just in software services, but in product-driven innovation and digital public infrastructure.
3.4 Complementing India’s Global Economic & Diplomatic Ties
Exporting UPI is fully aligned with India’s evolving foreign policy and economic diplomacy. Like its focus on building infrastructure in Africa or supplying vaccines to developing countries, UPI acts as a digital public good that strengthens India’s bilateral ties.
This “fintech diplomacy” supports:
- Easier trade and transaction flows between partner nations
- Greater integration with diaspora economies
- Soft power expansion, especially in the Global South
- Strategic alignment with India’s Act East and Neighborhood First policies
By assisting countries in adopting UPI or UPI-inspired frameworks, India helps develop digital infrastructure while gaining economic goodwill and influence.
India’s drive to export UPI is far more than a fintech headline — it is a strategic playbook for economic leadership, digital sovereignty, and global influence. With its massive remittance market, strong technology foundation, and growing diplomatic clout, India is uniquely positioned to make UPI not just a national success story, but a global standard in digital payments.
4. Global Footprint: Where Is UPI Today?
India’s Unified Payments Interface (UPI) is no longer just a homegrown solution — it's spreading its digital footprint across continents. As of mid-2025, UPI has expanded its presence through strategic tie-ups, bilateral agreements, and innovative integration models that reflect India’s broader economic and diplomatic ambitions. From Singapore to France and now moving into Africa and Latin America, UPI is establishing itself as a serious player in the global digital payments ecosystem.
4.1 Countries with UPI / UPI‑Like Adoption
As of 2025, UPI and UPI-linked systems are either operational, in pilot stages, or in the planning pipeline in multiple countries. Here’s a snapshot of where India’s payment revolution is making waves:
- Nepal & Bhutan: Among the earliest adopters. These neighboring countries fully support UPI-powered transactions via local partnerships.
- Mauritius & Sri Lanka: UPI is functional in parts of the retail and tourism economy, aimed at serving Indian travelers and business ties.
- UAE: Through collaboration with Aani (UAE's instant payment platform), Indian residents and tourists can now transact seamlessly via UPI apps.
- Singapore: UPI is linked with PayNow, enabling real-time cross-border money transfers — a breakthrough model in payments interoperability.
- France: UPI works with Lyra Collect, allowing Indian tourists, students, and expatriates to pay at French merchants using Indian UPI apps.
- Japan: A recent MoU with NTT DATA allows UPI payments at point-of-sale (POS) locations — a move to support rising Indian tourism in Japan.
- Qatar: UPI was officially launched, signaling strategic digital connectivity between India and the Gulf.
Additionally, NPCI is in active discussions with countries like Peru, Namibia, and Trinidad & Tobago to explore local rollouts or hybrid models of UPI.
4.2 Cross‑Border Linkage Models
India doesn’t simply export UPI as a product — it adapts and integrates based on the target country’s ecosystem. There are multiple models of cross-border UPI adoption:
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Interoperability (Rail-to-Rail Integration)
This model connects UPI directly with a foreign country’s instant payment system. The UPI–PayNow linkage is a leading example, enabling users in both countries to send and receive money through their native apps using mobile numbers or QR codes. -
Merchant Acceptance Model
Here, Indian UPI apps like PhonePe, Google Pay, Paytm, and BHIM are accepted at international merchant outlets using UPI-compatible POS systems. This model is growing in Europe and parts of Southeast Asia. -
Remittance-Focused Infrastructure
UPI is used as the backend rail for fast, affordable, and transparent remittance flows. This is crucial for the Indian diaspora sending money home from regions like the Gulf, Southeast Asia, and soon Africa. -
White-Labeled Tech Support
India also offers UPI technology as a consulting or platform service, helping countries build UPI-like systems. This model is particularly promising for Africa and Latin America, where digital payments infrastructure is still emerging.
These models allow UPI to scale flexibly, adapting to the needs of each partner country while keeping the core benefit: fast, low-cost, and secure digital transactions.
4.3 Recent Announcements: PayPal, Japan & Africa
UPI’s momentum is being turbocharged by a series of high-impact global partnerships in 2025:
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PayPal Integration
In a major endorsement, PayPal World announced it is integrating UPI into its international payments infrastructure. This will allow Indian UPI users to shop at global merchants directly through PayPal, eliminating conversion headaches and hidden forex fees. -
Japan – NTT Data MoU
To cater to the growing number of Indian tourists and business travelers in Japan, NPCI signed an MoU with NTT DATA. This will bring UPI QR compatibility to thousands of retail outlets and merchants across Japan. -
Africa and South America Expansion
NPCI has revealed plans to launch UPI-linked systems in select African and South American nations by 2026–27. These regions are being targeted for India’s tech-consultancy model, which could see UPI serve as the foundation for local digital economies. -
UPI–PayNow Expansion in Singapore
In July 2025, NPCI expanded the UPI–PayNow corridor by adding 13 more Indian banks to the network. This vastly improves accessibility and volume capacity, especially for cross-border workers and students.
These developments show that UPI’s international expansion is no longer about convenience for Indian tourists alone. It’s about embedding Indian fintech into the world’s financial rails — creating reciprocal economic ties, encouraging digital trust, and ultimately, projecting India’s technological leadership on the global stage.
Stay with us as we explore what this growing footprint means for trade, remittances, and economic policy in the next section.
5. Economic & Financial Impacts: Data & Analysis
As India’s Unified Payments Interface (UPI) continues its global rollout, the platform’s influence is moving beyond convenience and speed. UPI is increasingly shaping remittance economics, improving India’s current account balance, and opening new opportunities for fintech players both at home and abroad. Here's how:
5.1 Remittances & Cost Reductions
Remittances form a critical part of India's foreign exchange inflows. In 2024 alone, India received a record $135.4 billion in remittances, according to World Bank and RBI data. But the cost of sending money across borders remains a major pain point for millions of Indian families and NRIs.
In 2023, the average cost of sending $200 via traditional banks was 11.5%, compared to 5.4% for money transfer operators. In contrast, fintech platforms reduced that average to 4.2%, according to a World Bank Remittance Brief. That number can drop even further through UPI-powered cross-border rails, especially when integrated with real-time platforms like Singapore’s PayNow, UAE’s AANI, or France’s Lyra.
With UPI’s near-zero transaction cost and instant settlement features, migrants could send money back home faster and cheaper, with minimal leakage to intermediaries. According to an Economic Times report, Indian regulators believe that UPI’s growth could unlock billions in additional remittance flows by reducing frictions and promoting transparency.
Not only does this benefit families back home, but it also strengthens India’s economic resilience — remittances are a stable, counter-cyclical foreign exchange source that helps soften the blow of trade deficits.
5.2 Impact on Current Account & Balance of Payments
India has historically struggled with a large trade deficit, often hovering around 7%–8% of GDP. However, strong remittance inflows and rising digital service exports — including from IT, BPO, and now fintech — are acting as stabilizers for the Current Account Deficit (CAD).
As UPI enables more inward remittances and digital service flows to remain onshore, India benefits from lower foreign exchange leakage. Traditional remittance channels often route money through multiple banks or transfer services, each of which may hold funds offshore temporarily or impose high foreign exchange fees.
With UPI-linked rails, especially in direct partnerships (like with Singapore and UAE), funds can flow straight to Indian bank accounts — enhancing foreign exchange reserves and improving balance of payments (BoP) health.
According to RBI estimates, this has helped keep India’s CAD below 1.2% of GDP, even during periods of global volatility, like energy price shocks or weak exports. Over time, widespread UPI adoption could provide a more predictable and secure buffer for India’s macroeconomic stability.
5.3 Effects on Fintech Ecosystem, Merchant Adoption & Financial Inclusion
India’s fintech sector — home to giants like PhonePe, Paytm, and Google Pay India — is poised to benefit immensely from UPI’s global expansion. As the platform scales internationally, white-labeled technology, consulting services, and cross-border fintech partnerships can become major revenue streams.
Fintechs and payment service providers (PSPs) can export India’s UPI playbook to emerging markets with similar demographics — low card penetration, high mobile usage, and underserved populations. Countries in Africa, Southeast Asia, and Latin America offer especially fertile ground.
Moreover, global merchant adoption of UPI QR codes allows Indian travelers to pay seamlessly in rupees. This "travel without cash" experience improves convenience for tourists and promotes patronage for local merchants in countries like Singapore, the UAE, France, and Thailand.
For partner countries, enabling UPI could also foster financial inclusion. Unbanked or underbanked populations may gain access to a digital transaction system without needing a credit card or complex bank setup — just a smartphone and digital identity. While infrastructure and regulation will influence adoption, UPI could replicate its domestic success by targeting similar pain points globally.
UPI’s rise isn’t just a payments story anymore — it’s an economic lever that touches foreign exchange, fintech innovation, and financial empowerment. As India scales its indigenous fintech infrastructure globally, the benefits reverberate across remittance corridors, current account dynamics, and startup ecosystems alike.
6. Challenges, Risks & Mitigation
6.1 Regulatory & Sovereign Concerns
- Regulation & oversight: Each country has its own payments regulation, data localization, privacy, licensing needs. Convincing regulators to accept UPI/Indian entity involvement is nontrivial.
- Sovereignty sensitivity: Countries may resist a foreign country controlling essential payments rails.
- Monetary sovereignty & FX control: Cross-border settlement, currency conversion, and capital controls complicate integration.
Mitigation:
- Use local partner banks or PSPs
- Co‑ownership / governance models
- Modular deployment (merchant acceptance first, then ramp up)
- Agreements with foreign central banks (MoU, regulatory frameworks)
6.2 Interoperability, Security & Fraud Risks
- Interoperability gaps: Ensuring UPI integrates seamlessly with foreign fast payment rails without gaps in settlement, messaging, or reconciliation.
- Authentication & fraud: Cross-border identity authentication, AML/KYC differences, fraud risks are higher when rails span geographies.
- Data security, jurisdiction: Data privacy laws (GDPR, local laws) may restrict data flows.
Mitigation:
- Strong API standards, audit trails, security protocols
- Fraud detection & AI-based anomaly systems (e.g. using LLM‑aided detection) (see research on UPI & LLM for scam detection)
- Local data residency compliance
- Certification / audits
6.3 Currency / FX Settlement Complexity
- How to manage currency conversion, hedging, settlement timing, foreign exchange volatility?
- If UPI networks settle in INR, partner countries might resist; multi-currency settlement logic is needed.
Mitigation:
- Use local currency settlement with correspondent banks
- Netting & clearing via central counterparty
- Hedging or bilateral settlement agreements
6.4 Adoption Inertia & Local Incumbents
- Local users and merchants may resist unfamiliar system, prefer local incumbents (e.g. Visa, domestic payment networks).
- High switching costs, market inertia.
- Infrastructure gaps (smartphone penetration, internet connectivity).
- Marketing, trust-building, onboarding costs.
Mitigation:
- Subsidized merchant onboarding, incentives
- Phased rollout (tourist corridors, special economic zones)
- Joint campaigns with local banks
- Trusted branding (co‑brand with local institutions)
7. Opinion & Insights: How India Should Strategize Forward
7.1 Layer‑by‑Layer Export Plan
India should export UPI in layers — start with cross-border remittance, then merchant acceptance, then full bilateral linkage, and finally white-label local rails.
For example:
- Remittance first to gain user traction
- Merchant acceptance in tourism hubs
- Full interoperability with local payment rails
- White-label / local rails build
This reduces risk and lets India test, learn, and adapt per market.
7.2 Prioritize Partner Countries & Corridors
Focus on corridors with:
- Large Indian diaspora (Gulf, Singapore, UK, US, Canada)
- Strong trade / tourism links
- Friendly regulatory environments
- Digital readiness (high smartphone & internet penetration)
For example, Singapore (via PayNow link), UAE (Aani linkage), Qatar, Japan, and planned expansion in Africa/Latin America are good early bets.
7.3 Modular / Open Architecture vs Walled Garden
Maintain UPI’s open API philosophy. Offer modular “plug-in” components so partner countries or providers can adopt parts (QR acceptance, settlement module, identity module) without adopting full stack.
Avoid a fully proprietary “black box” model, which limits trust and extendibility.
7.4 Building Trust, Standards & Ecosystem Partnerships
- Engage with international payments bodies (e.g. BIS, CPMI, SWIFT) to align messaging standards, messaging protocols (ISO 20022).
- Forge alliances with global fintech, banks, card networks (Visa, Mastercard) for bridging rails.
- Encourage standardization and shared frameworks to lower friction.
- Use transparent pricing, security certifications, audits to build trust.
7.5 Gradual & Sustainable Scaling with Governance
Don’t overextend. Ensure risk, compliance, governance, audit, and contingency protocols are mature before scaling in each new country. Use pilot zones, limited geographies, then expand.
Also monitor local market response, adapt features as needed (e.g. local payment habits, transaction limits, loyalty features).
8. Conclusion: UPI as an Economic Force Multiplier
UPI’s march beyond India’s borders is far more than a fintech play — it's a calculated economic and diplomatic strategy. By exporting UPI, India stands to:
- Reclaim remittance value and increase forex flows
- Anchor global payments networks to Indian architecture
- Project India’s technological capability worldwide
- Deepen ties through digital public goods
- Generate new revenue streams, ecosystem export opportunities
However, success hinges on careful country prioritization, seamless interoperability, regulatory agility, security trust, and phased scaling. If done right, UPI could evolve from India’s domestic backbone into a global payments superstructure — and become a linchpin of India’s 21st-century tech diplomacy.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
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Will UPI replace SWIFT or Visa/Mastercard globally?
Unlikely in the near term — UPI is more suited to retail / micro payments, not large interbank settlement. But in markets with high remittance and retail activity, it can be competitive. -
How does UPI handle foreign exchange conversion?
Through partner banks or settlement providers that convert INR to local currency (or vice versa), often via correspondent banking or netting. -
Can local residents in partner countries open UPI accounts?
In some models, yes — via local partner banks adopting UPI rails — but mostly rollout begins with Indian users making outbound payments. -
What about security and fraud?
Cross-border fraud risk is higher. India will need advanced fraud detection, real‑time monitoring, compliance with AML/KYC rules, and cooperation with host country regulators. -
How many countries will have UPI by 2029?
The RBI and NPCI plan to take UPI to 20 countries by FY 2028–29. -
Will this benefit small merchants?
Yes — if merchants in partner countries accept UPI, they gain access to Indian consumer flows with lower transaction costs. Over time, they may also benefit from digital inclusion.
References & Further Reading
- Reserve Bank of India / RBI Annual Report (on UPI internationalization)
- NPCI International Payments Ltd (NIPL) press releases
- Economic Times, Times of India, LiveMint reports (on UPI expansion)
- “Digitalisation lowers costs and to boost volume of inward remittances” — ET / RBI report
- “Enhancing Trust and Safety in Digital Payments: An LLM‑Powered Approach” (arXiv) — on fraud detection in UPI systems
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