Unified Payments Interface, commonly known as UPI, has been a game changer for digital payments in India. From getting groceries to buying your favourite gadget, one can quickly make a UPI payment with no additional charges. UPI is no longer limited to India and the number of countries accepting it keeps growing.
UPI is a mobile-first payment system developed in India by the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI). It makes it easy to send and receive by just scanning a QR code or using a user’s phone number. Unlike most digital payment systems, the amount gets directly debited to the linked bank account.
UPI can be used on BHIM, a first-party app. It can also be accessed via third-party platforms such as Google Pay, Amazon Pay, PhonePe, BharatPe, and a lot more. Most banks that officially operate in India support UPI payment, and unlike a credit or debit card payment, there is no charge involved in UPI payment.
To prevent fraudulent activities, NCPI has thought of various features like how the account is directly linked to the phone number, and if the SIM card is removed, UPI ceases to work, and at times, one might also face downtime due to service issues. To solve that, NCIP came up with UPI Lite, which does not require a PIN or internet to make transactions. However, there is a limit of Rs 500 per transaction and Rs 4,000 limit per day.
Here is the list of countries that officially support UPI payment:
- Sri Lanka
- Mauritius
- France
- UAE
- Singapore
- Bhutan
- Nepal
Bhutan was one of the first countries to adopt UPI payments outside India back in 2021 in collaboration with the Royal Monetary Authority (RMA) of Bhutan. Besides, Bhutan is also one of the first countries to adopt and issue RuPay bank cards.
France is one of the first countries in the Europian region to access UPI payments, that too at the iconic Eiffel Tower in collaboration with Lyra. The govt of France has confirmed that more merchants across France and Europe will soon start accepting UPI payments, which will be a big development, especially for Indian travellers.
UAE being the third-largest trade partner of India, recently announced a partnership with the govt of India regarding the adoption of UPI payments in the country just a few days ago in collaboration with Mashreq, a major bank in UAE.
Srilanka and Mauritius are the latest islands to adopt India’s UPI payment system on February 12, helping Indian tourists to send and recieve money in these countries.
Right now, UPI is available in seven countries, and the list is growing almost every month.
Also read | How to Amazon Pay in India: The complete guide
How to use UPI outside of India?
To make UPI payments outside India, one needs to enable international payments on the respective apps. For example, if you are using UPI via the PhonePe app, the same has to be enabled on the platform from the settings menu. Once enabled, one will be able to make UPI payments with ease in international locations.
However, if you are travelling outside India, we don’t recommend just depending on the UPI payment, as only select locations and merchants can receive UPI payment at the moment. As these are international transactions, and you will be paying using Indian rupees, there could be a small fee that your bank might charge you to process the transaction.
How to enable UPI international payment
To enable UPI international payment on PhonePe, click on your profile picture in the top left corner, go to “payment management,” and select “international.” In the next menu, click on the bank that you would like to activate international UPI payment, and enter your UPI PIN to authenticate. Once enabled, the international UPI payment method will be active for six months, and one has to reactivate the same post that period.
To deactivate international payment, go to the same menu, click disable and enter your UPI pin to authenticate.
On top of that, you can also use a RuPay credit/debit card to make payments in countries like Bhutan, Nepal, Mauritius, Singapore, and UAE. Also note that, depending on the country, there will be a certain limit on how much you can spend per day, and making UPI payments will also need an active internet connection. Right now, only a select number of banks support UPI international payments.
Here is a complete list of banks that support UPI payments as per the PhonePe database:
- Bank of Baroda
- Bank of India
- Bank of Maharashtra
- Canara Bank
- Central Bank of India
- City Union Bank Limited
- ESAF Small Finance Bank Limited
- The Federal Bank Limited
- Indian Bank
- IndusInd Bank Limited
- Karur Vysya Bank Limited
- Punjab & Sind Bank
- Punjab National Bank
- South Indian Bank Limited
- The Cosmos Bank
- Union Bank of India
FAQs
India's UPI has gained global traction with initiatives in Bhutan, UAE, Malaysia, Singapore, and others. UPI collaborations extend to regions like Europe, Japan, and the US, fostering cross-border transactions.
Which country accepts Indian UPI payments? ›
India's UPI has gained global traction with initiatives in Bhutan, UAE, Malaysia, Singapore, and others. UPI collaborations extend to regions like Europe, Japan, and the US, fostering cross-border transactions.
Is UPI available in the USA? ›
Yes, NRIs can use UPI from their registered overseas mobile number from the approved geographies, i.e. Australia, Canada, France, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, UAE, UK and USA for INR transactions in India. How can an NRI set up a UPI/ VPA ID?
Will UPI work outside India? ›
Unified Payment Interface, commonly known as UPI, services are now available in multiple countries other than India. These include Sri Lanka, Mauritius, Bhutan, Oman, Nepal, France and UAE.
Which banks support UPI International? ›
Steps to Activate UPI International
- Bank of Baroda.
- Union Bank of India.
- Punjab National Bank.
- Canara Bank.
- Bank of India.
- Indian Bank.
- Central Bank of India.
- Bank of Maharashtra.
However, UPI-based transactions are not prevalent beyond India and that is because money moves very differently from the way it does here. In India, payments are largely cash-based even if it's digitally paid whereas, in the West technology-based payments are also largely on credit.
Does China have UPI? ›
CUP is a payment method from China. Other names of the methods are China UnionPay or UPI (for international payments) or simply UnionPay. It was founded in 20020. Basically, UnionPay is the biggest card scheme in mainland China.
Why UPI is not implemented in USA? ›
Instant payments haven't taken off in the US yet. That's in part because the US economy is card-based. Banks make a lot of money on interchange fees and late payments, which means it's difficult to sacrifice profitable credit and debit cards for free instant payments.
Who is the owner of UPI? ›
Unified Payment Interface (UPI) was developed by the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) which was established by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and Indian Banks Association (IBA). It enables real time, person to merchant transactions, inter-bank peer to peer transactions.
Is UPI the same as zelle? ›
Geographical Focus: UPI is a payment system developed and used primarily in India, whereas Zelle and Venmo are popular payment platforms in the United States.
Nepal. Nepal became the first foreign country to deploy UPI as a payment platform. NIPL partnered Gateway Payments Service (GPS), an authorised payment system operator in Nepal, and Bengaluru-based Manam Infotech.
Which country has the most digital payments in the world? ›
Which country is using the maximum transaction digitally? India has retained the top spot in the world with 25.5 billion real-time payment transactions, followed by China with 15.7 billion transactions.
Is UPI available in the Philippines? ›
NIPL signed an agreement with Liquid Group to enable QR-based UPI payments in 10 countries, including Malaysia, Thailand, Philippines, Vietnam, Singapore, Cambodia, South Korea, Japan, Taiwan, and Hong Kong.
Can UPI be used in the USA? ›
Q2 Can I use an international phone number with UPI? Yes. If you're an NRI in the UK, USA, Saudi Arabia, UAE, Canada, Oman, Qatar, Australia, Singapore, or Hong Kong, you can use your global mobile number for UPI payments.
How many countries accept Indian UPI? ›
Indians can now use the Unified Payments Interface (UPI) to make payments in seven countries. Following its launch in Sri Lanka and Mauritius, UPI payments are accepted in France, UAE, Singapore, Bhutan, and Nepal.
Which bank is best for UPI? ›
The top 5 banks for UPI remittances in 2023 include:
- State Bank of India (SBI)
- HDFC Bank.
- Bank of Baroda.
- Union Bank of India.
- Punjab National Bank.
Indian tourists in the UAE and and those living in the Emirates who have bank accounts in India can use the UPI network.
Is UPI accepted in France? ›
Mumbai/Toulouse, 2nd February 2024: NPCI International Payments Limited (NIPL) in partnership with Lyra, a French leader in securing e-commerce and proximity payments, has announced the acceptance of Unified Payments Interface (UPI) payment mechanism in France starting with the iconic Eiffel Tower.
Can I use Indian Gpay in Singapore? ›
You can use Google Pay to send money in the US, India, and Singapore.
Can tourists use UPI India? ›
Making payments in India just got simpler and more convenient for all foreign visitors with the launch of UPI One World. This digital wallet allows visitors from any country to experience India's vibrant culture and stunning landscapes hassle-free.
