Indian UPI services to become accessible for international tourists and NRIs

India's Unified Payment Interface (UPI) has had a significant impact on the shift to online payment systems in India. Hugely popular for highly simplified retail digital payments, UPI service allows for real time inter-bank transactions through a mobile device, without the need for net banking or any other physical mode of transaction.

In a bid to simplify payments for non-Indian visitors arriving in the country, i.e., international tourists and NRIs, the RBI will now permit inbound travellers from 10 countries to India to use the UPI services for their transactions while they are in the country.

Initially, the service will be enabled for travellers from G20 countries. The decision has been taken by RBI chief, Shaktikanta Das to facilitate the foreign delegates who have been invited to the country for multiple crucial events scheduled to be hosted under the banner of India's G20 presidency.

Furthermore, non-resident Indians (NRIs) from 10 countries will also have access to UPI services without having to the need to switch to an Indian phone number. In the future, the service will be extended to travellers of all nationalities.

The service will be enabled starting from April 30, 2023, for overseas citizens living in countries including Singapore, the US, Australia, Canada, Hong Kong, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, UAE and the UK.