UPI International Expansion: NPCI Enables QR Code Payments Across Additional Destinations

Indian digital payments system, UPI, is taking strides towards globalization to make digital payments available to Indian tourists who visit abroad destinations. This has been achieved by the collaboration between the international unit of NPCI, NPCI International Payments Limited (NIPL), and other foreign payment systems to facilitate digital transactions using QR codes from Indian banks.

It is being done with the purpose of making foreign transactions easy and reducing dependence on cash or international cards.

UPI Payments Expand to New International Destinations

New alliances have expanded the reach of UPI merchant payment acceptance in countries such as Cambodia and Uzbekistan.

In August 2026, NPCI International signed an agreement with the National Interbank Processing Centre (NIPC) of Uzbekistan. This allows Indian travellers to scan the national UZQR code of the country using UPI enabled apps.

The partnership allows for access to merchant establishments in retail, hospitality and service industries. This is likely to be beneficial for Indians travelling to Uzbekistan as tourists, business professionals, and even students.

Cambodia was another country that was added to the list of countries offering UPI merchant payment acceptance to Indian travelers in June 2026 through a partnership with ACLEDA Bank.

Which Countries Currently Accept UPI?

As per the information issued by the government in August 2026, UPI is available in 11 foreign countries for the purpose of accepting merchants and/or cross-border remittance.

Countries that have UPI include Singapore, UAE, France, Bhutan, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Mauritius, Qatar, Cambodia, Greece, and the Maldives.

The point to note is that the payment services vary from place to place. While 9 countries have merchant QR payments, Greece and Maldives have cross-border remittances instead of merchant payments using QRs.

It is significant to understand that even though UPI is functional in a particular country, it may not be available at all merchants places.

How Can Indians Make UPI Payments Abroad?

For making international transactions to merchants, supported UPI applications can be used by Indian travelers as per the below process:

• Enable UPI Global or UPI International feature in the supported payment application.
• Find the QR codes from the participating merchants which accept UPI or network partners.
• Scan the QR codes in the UPI application.
• Confirm the transaction value in foreign currency as well as in Indian currency.
• Examine exchange rates and charges related to the transaction and then enter the UPI PIN.

The transaction gets approved from the linked bank account of the Indian user.

How International UPI Expansion Benefits India

As the use of UPI increases overseas, it will help people traveling to other countries since the process of carrying money or depending on the international card payments is minimized.

There are additional business benefits for foreign merchants as they can attract customers from India.

This is an enhancement of the digital public infrastructure in India and presents a possibility of collaboration with payment systems of other countries.

What’s Next for UPI’s Global Expansion?

India’s international payments approach involves integrating UPI with local QR payment networks and not developing an independent payment structure in each country.

Partnerships in the future will help to increase interoperability in cross-border transactions and minimize transaction friction.

With the ongoing expansion of partnerships on the global scale by NPCI, UPI is gradually shifting from purely domestic transactions to international digital payments for India.

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