As acceptance of the unified payment interface (UPI) system broadens, Indians can expect more practical advantages while travelling to and in a number of foreign countries. Among the top benefits is the ability to securely send and receive money instantly, while significantly lowering costs compared to conventional cross-border payment methods.

Segments set to largely benefit from UPI expansion to more countries include business travellers, students and tourists, who are able to use the homegrown, app-based solution for payments instead of relying on high-charge international credit and or debit cards.

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UPI has been developed by the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) and is authorised by the Centre under the Payment and Settlement Systems Act, 2007. The company in April 2020, incorporated its arm — NPCI International Payments (NIPL) to partner with foreign entities and take platforms, such as UPI and RuPay card, to international markets.

The aim was to enable cross-border payments for Indian tourists and the diaspora and assist partner countries and entities in building their payment infrastructure along the lines of UPI’s real-time payment systems.

For foreign markets, UPI is linked with the payment systems of various countries to facilitate Person-to-Person (P2P) remittances and Person-to-Merchant (P2M) transactions.

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Use of UPI reduces costs to a fraction of conventional transfer fees. This is because use of international credit or debit cards comes with a hefty transaction fee, besides additional forex processing charges.

Notably, from 15 October, UPI will also be subject to 0.4% merchant discount rate (MDR) charge. The charge was zero since 2020 (amid the COVID-19 pandemic and to encourage shift to digital payments), but revised UPI MDR remains lower than charges associated with several other digital payment instruments, including credit cards, debit cards, and wallets.

According to FAQs released by the NPCI, the MDR for UPI is structured to be much lower than all traditional card-based transaction fees.

— Standard credit card MDRs typically range from 1.5-2.5% per transaction,

— While debit card MDRs are capped up to 0.90%.

— “By setting the baseline UPI MDR at 0.4% on transaction above ₹2,000 and capping it at ₹300 for high-value purchases, UPI remains the most affordable digital payment acceptance tool for commercial enterprises,” it added.

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UPI also enables cash-free travel for tourists, allowing digital payments directly from linked Indian bank accounts without the need for significant cash in hand. Further, there is also benefit of near-instant payments eliminating delays and dependence on international payment networks for traditional payment methods.

It also allows for real-time expense tracking as transactions are conducted directly from linked bank accounts or UPI apps.

Full list of foreign countries with UPI facility

Today, we take a look at the full list of foreign countries with UPI facility enabled and available for Indian travellers. Some countries include Cambodia, Bhutan, France, Greece, Mauritius, Nepal, Singapore, Sri Lanka, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Qatar.

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Here’s a look at the detailed list of 13 countries and respective partner institutions that have enabled UPI for Indian tourists, students and business travellers:

CountryLive forPartner InstitutionLive sinceBhutanP2MRMA BhutanJuly 2021SingaporeP2MNETS Singapore Pte. Ltd., HitPay Payment, Solutions Pte. Ltd., LiquidPay Group Pte. Ltd.August 2021UAEP2MMashreq Bank PSC (NeoPay), Network International, Magnati-Sole Proprietorship LLCApril 2022SingaporeP2PBCS PaynowFebruary 2023FranceP2MLYRA NetworkFebruary 2024MauritiusP2MBank of MauritiusFebruary 2024Sri LankaP2MLanka Pay Pvt. Ltd.February 2024NepalP2MFonePay Payment Services Ltd.March 2024QatarP2MQatar National BankSeptember 2025GreeceP2PEurobank S.A.May 2026NepalP2PNepal Clearing House Limited (NCHL)June 2026CambodiaP2MAcleda Bank PLCJune 2026UzbekistanP2MNational Interbank Processing Centre JSCN.A

Notably, for Bhutan, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar during a visit to the country and meeting with Bhutanese counterpart DN Dhungyel on 18 September welcomed the operationalisation of a UPI-based facility that will enable Bhutanese nationals to make digital payments in India using Bhutanese mobile applications.

Further, Uzbekistan is the latest to join the list of countries to adopt UPI, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) announced in late August. Speaking to reporters, MEA Secretary (West) Sibi George said the development came after Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s two-day long official visit to Tashkent that month.

Disclaimer: This story is for educational purposes and only intends to spread awareness. We advise readers to check and discuss with certified experts before making any financial decisions.