Google India Digital Services Limited and NPCI International Payments Ltd (NIPL), a wholly-owned subsidiary of the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to expand the transformative impact of UPI to countries beyond India.  

The MoU has three main objectives: expanding the use of UPI payments for international travelers, assisting in creating UPI-like digital payment systems globally, and facilitating cross-border remittances through the UPI infrastructure for simplified financial exchanges.  

The outlined objectives will help accelerate UPI's global acceptance, providing foreign merchants access to Indian customers who will no longer have to rely only on foreign currency and/or, credit or forex cards for making digital payments and will have the option of using UPI-powered Apps from India including Google Pay, a statement added.  

Moreover, the MoU will also significantly contribute to simplifying remittances by reducing dependence on conventional money transfer channels.   

Deeksha Kaushal, director of Partnerships, Google Pay India said, “We are delighted to support NIPL towards expanding the reach of UPI to international markets. Google Pay has been a proud and willing collaborator to NPCI and the financial ecosystem, under the regulator’s guidance, and this collaboration is another step toward our commitment to making payments simple, safe, and convenient. UPI has demonstrated to the world the step change that happens in economies with the introduction of interoperable, population-scale digital infrastructure and each economy that joins such networks will create an impact beyond the sum of parts. We are very excited about the scope of this collaboration.” 

Ritesh Shukla, CEO – NPCI International Payments Limited (NIPL), said, “This strategic partnership will not only simplify foreign transactions for Indian travelers but will also allow us to extend our knowledge and expertise of operating a successful digital payments ecosystem to other countries. We are also excited about enabling a seamless and more connected international remittance network by further expanding UPI’s cross-border interoperability feature. With the success of UPI in a dynamic market like India we are excited to further our vision to transform the digital payments landscape globally.”   

The global expansion of UPI represents a transformative step in international commerce, enabling a seamless, secure, and cost-effective payment experience for both merchants and customers worldwide, the statement further added. 

The UPI transaction value grew over 42 per cent YoY to Rs 18.23 Lakh crore in December last year, while the volume went up 54 per cent to 1,202 crore. It  recorded a whopping 12.02 billion transactions in the volume worth Rs 18.23 trillion, according to the National Payments Corporation of India

A recent report by PayNearby revealed that the UPI transaction saw 118 per cent in volume and value respectively at semi-urban and rural areas.

The report titled Retail-O-Nomics observed that the nationwide newly registered retailer count increased by 9 per cent. Overall, transactions grew by 10 per cent both in volume and value. The transactions include not only banking and financial services, but also digital services like utility payment, cash collection, credit, insurance, assisted commerce, and more, it added.