Cross border digital payment service provider Liquid Group signed memorandum of understanding (MoU) with NIPL in September 2021 to introduce UPI based QR code payment system in Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Philippines, Vietnam, Cambodia, Hong Kong, Taiwan, South Korea, and Japan from 2022.[X1][X2] NIPL signed MoU with Arab Monetary Fund (AMF) on 8 March 2022 to link UPI with Buna Payment Platform that is connected with the central banks and financial institutions from Arab region.
This will help in cross border multi currency transaction.[X3][X4] Till 4 July 2022, India already initiated talks with 30 countries for UPI integration.[X5]
Singapore
UPI is accepted at merchant locations to ease transaction experience of Indian tourists.[S1] The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) initiated a project to operationalise interoperability between UPI and PayNow in September 2021.[S2][S3] Technical preparations on interoperability were completed in November 2022 and the project was completed and launched on 21 February 2023. It enables users of both systems to transfer funds quickly and at a competitive rate without having to get on board the other system.[S4]
Bhutan
On 13 July 2021, UPI made available to Bhutan through Royal Monetary Authority of Bhutan.[B1] Bhutan became the first country to accept UPI transactions through the BHIM app.
Malaysia
In 2021, Malaysian company Merchantrade Asia partnered with NIPL to send remittance in India through UPI infrastructure.[M1]
United Arab Emirates
LuLu Financial Holding, a subsidiary of LuLu Group International signed MoU with NIPL in August 2021, to offer real time remittance to India from United Arab Emirates (UAE) and the Middle Eastern region.The MoU will help LuLu Financial Holding and its affiliates to connect with the UPI infrastructure and help in validation, compliance checks and facilitate all the requisite protocols for a safer cross border monetary transaction.[U1E] NIPL tied up with Mashreq bank in 2021 to increase UPI person-to-person (P2P) and person to merchant (P2M) transactions in UAE.[U2E]
Network International on 18 November 2021 signed MoU with NIPL for acceptance of UPI in UAE through its network. Merchants under Network International will be able to accept UPI payment from Q1 2022.[U3E] On 21 April 2022, UPI went live and started accepting payment through NeoPay, a payment subsidiary of Mashreq bank.[U4E]
Nepal
On 17 February 2022, NIPL announced that it will deploy UPI in Nepal for person to person (P2P), person to merchant (P2M) and to enable cross border remittances with India in collaboration with Nepal's Manam Infotech and Gateway Payments Service.[N1]
France
NIPL signed MoU with French payment company Lyra Network, that will allow Indian tourists and students make payment using UPI in France.[F1]
United Kingdom
All POS terminals in UK under payment solution provider PayXpert will enable UPI based QR code payment in partnership with NIPL.[U1][U2]
Russia
India and Russia expressed interest in continuing dialogue on accepting UPI and Faster Payments System (FPS) of Central Bank of Russia within their respective national payment infrastructures.[R1] As of August 2022, both nations started working on interaction between UPI and FPS.[R2] On April 2023, Russia and India signed an official agreement for adaptation of SPFS in cross border transactions, acceptance of RuPay and UPI in Russia, and reciprocal acceptance of Mir and FPS in India.[R3]
Oman
NPCI signed MoU with Central Bank of Oman on 4 October 2022 to connect UPI with similar system in Oman on a reciprocal basis.[O1] It will make UPI QR code based payment available in the country and make it easier for Indian diaspora to send their remittance money in a cost effective way.[O2]
Qatar
Commercial Bank of Qatar announced launch of UPI service for remittance on 15 March 2023. The transactions can be completed within 60 seconds and will be available 24 hours, 7 days a week.[Q1]
Europe
As per MoU signed on 11 October 2022, Worldline SA will enable European merchants POS terminal to accept UPI. The payment will be facilitated through Worldline QR code.[E1] The initial market expansion will start with Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg and Switzerland.[E2]
Australia
During a bilateral virtual summit on 21 March 2022, India proposed early integration of UPI with Australian New Payment Platform to improve higher education access and tourism potential.[A1]
Thailand
Bank of Thailand is planning cross-border remittances and QR based payment with India.[T1] On 20 April 2023, at India-Thailand Joint Trade Committee meeting, officials from Department of Trade Negotiations, Ministry of Commerce of Thailand and Department of Commerce, Ministry of Commerce and Industry of India reviewed progress of connecting UPI and PromptPay.[T2]
Saudi Arabia
During a meeting with Majid bin Abdullah Al Qasabi on 19 September 2022, Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal discussed on introducing UPI in the country. Operationalization of UPI is one of the priority area in bilateral Fintech collaboration.[S1A]
United States
The Clearing House is working with EBA Clearing and SWIFT for real-time USD-Euro payment called Immediate Cross-Border (IXB) that may launch in 2023. There are talks of payment corridor between IXB and UPI.[U1S]
Bahrain
As of 20 March 2023, Minister of Industry and Commerce Abdulla Adel Fakhro held talks with Indian counterparts after UPI-PayNow linkage.[B1] On April 2023, preliminary discussion started to have similar partnership between Bahrain and India in cross border payment space.[B2]
Japan
Japanese Digital Minister Taro Kono informed that after 49th G7 summit, a team from Japan will visit India to study the UPI system.[J1] The Government of Japan is considering joining the network which can increase interoperability and can work as another standard of cross border payment.[J2]
References:
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[X2] "Liquid Group to Power UPI QR acceptance in 10 Asian Markets" (PDF). National Payment Corporation of India. 13 September 2021. Retrieved 13 September 2021.
[X3] "The Arab Monetary Fund (AMF) signs MoU with NPCI International Payments Limited (NIPL) to facilitate cross-border payments via Buna and Unified Payment Interface (UPI), to enhance economic and financial ties between India and the Arab region". Arab Monetary Fund. 10 March 2022. Retrieved 12 March 2022.
[X4] John, Issac (11 March 2022). "AMF, India's NPCI ink deal to boost cross-border payments". Khaleej Times. Retrieved 12 March 2022.
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[U1S] Groenfeldt, Tom (17 October 2022). "Real-Time USD-Euro Payments Set To Launch In 2023". Forbes. Retrieved 19 October 2022.
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