India’s UPI For Payments Soaring From Local To Global

We have our phones all the time, wherever we go, including bathrooms, and UPI has made it easier to make payments. Whenever you run out of cash, you can just take out your phone, scan the code, and its done, without any fuss.

From buying a home decor to buying a lemon, UPI can be used anywhere and anytime, the only thing that has been an issue with the UPI is that it wasn’t available in foreign countries till now. 

However, the good news is that India’s UPI Payments has been extended to other countries, and you will soon be able to use it. France recently came in terms with India, and now Indians travelling to France can now pay via UPI.  The UPI transactions will begin from the Eiffel Tower.

The National Payments Corporations of India is in talks with several other countries as well, so that people travelling to these countries from India can pay via UPI. 

The CEO of Bank Bazaar, Adil Shetty said, “There will be more operational clarity once the implementation gets underway, but broadly there will be two benefits: Indians abroad will be able to make UPI payments from their Indian bank accounts linked to their international mobile numbers, and Indians travelling abroad will be able to make forex payments via UPI where available.”

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Problems Faced By Indians Abroad

1. Carrying Cash: Indians travelling abroad or anywhere face the common problem of carrying cash or converting them into Euros which in itself is a task because you could always lose cash, and losing the Indian Rupee is still bearable, but losing Dollars or Euros will stab you in the heart.
2. Forex Card: People who don’t prefer carrying cash get a Forex card to make transactions, but the exchange rate is very high while buying, and at the time of selling, the exchange rate is low, so it’s a problem altogether. 
3. International Cards: Other options tourists have is that they can use International Debit and Credit cards to make transactions from their Indian bank accounts but the conversion rate is very high and there are markup charges of up to 1% to 3.5%. 

UPI in foreign countries has been introduced to ease travellers from such problems and also makes international transactions as easy as it is in India. 

How Will India’s UPI For Payments Work Abroad?

To pay via UPI, the first and foremost step is to convert the home currency to the foreign currency which is from INR to USD for example. The issuing bank authorises the transactions, and when the receiver’s bank gets the authorisation, once it has been verified, the transaction takes place. This process which allows you to pay via UPI may involve multiple banks and systems, depending on the countries and their agreements with India. 

The exact charges, and fees for each transaction may vary depending upon the exchange rates, and policy of each bank. According to the CEO of Bank Bazaar, we will only get more clarity on the usage of India’s UPI for Payments. 

At present, India has UPI tie ups with several countries to transfer money including Australia, Canada, Oman, US, Singapore, Hong Kong, UAE, Saudi Arabia, UK, and Qatar, which means that people travelling to these countries can pay via UPI, and make UPI payments a success in other countries as well. The aim is to bring all the countries participating in the G20 event to get them to enable UPI Payments. 

The Non-Residents of India(NRI) are supposed to link their mobile numbers with NRO and NRE to activate UPI with an international number. However India’s UPI payment may differ in different countries. It is possible some banks have some specific tie-ups in terms of international banking partners, meanwhile others may have some restrictions. So it India’s UPI payment which is super easy in India, may not be so easy in other countries. 

High level discussions are going on between India and Russia to ease cross border transactions as we use India’s UPI for payments with so much ease. This has led to acceptance of Rupay and Mir Cards for ease of exchange in money. Countries that have accepted India’s UPI for payments are Singapore, Nepal, Bahrain, Bhutan, Europe, UK, Oman, France, UAE, Singapore, and Malaysia, all have accepted UPI transactions, which means that while travelling to these countries, you will be able to make UPI transactions for all kinds of transactions. 

In India, the use of UPI has grown significantly ever since it has been introduced in the country. From vegetable vendors, to big shot mall, all accept UPI transactions, making UPI a popular money sharing interface around the country and now abroad. 

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