India's UPI expands to UAE: boosting global digital payments

New Delhi: India's Unified Payments Interface (UPI) is set to expand its footprint into the Middle East, specifically in the UAE, marking a significant stride in global digital payments integration.

NPCI International Payments Limited has partnered with Network International, a large digital commerce company in the Middle East and Africa for this. Now Indian travelers or NRIs in UAE will make Unified Payments Interface (UPI) payments through QR code through Point of Sale machines.

NPCI International CEO Ritesh Shukla said that the increasing acceptance of UPI payments among UAE merchants will be convenient not only for Indian travellers, rather, it will promote innovative digital payment solutions at the international level.

According to the NPCI release, "The number of Indian travelers in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) is estimated to reach 98 lakh in 2024. Around 53 lakh Indians are likely to reach UAE alone."

The Government of India, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), and NPCI International are working together to promote UPI on the global platform. UPI is officially accepted in Nepal, Sri Lanka, Mauritius, UAE, Singapore, France, and Bhutan.

According to NPCI data, the number of transactions on the UPI platform in June was 13.9 billion. It has seen an increase of 49 per cent on an annual basis. During this period, the average number of transactions through UPI was 463 million per day and the average transaction value was Rs 66,903 crore per day.

The reason for the increase in UPI transactions is the linking of RuPay credit card with UPI and the launch of UPI in foreign countries as well.

Source: IANS