Digital payments: India’s UPI to be rolled out in the UAE
Virendra Pandit
New Delhi: India’s highly successful digital payment mode, the Unified Payments Interface (UPI), will now be available in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) as well, the media reported on Thursday.
NPCI International Payments Ltd, in partnership with Network International (Network), a leading enabler of digital commerce across the Middle East and Africa (MEA) region, has enabled QR code-based UPI payments through the latter’s point-of-sale (POS) terminals in the UAE.
This initiative ensures seamless and secure transactions for Indian tourists and Non-Resident Indians (NRIs) across Network International’s vast merchant network in the UAE, NPCI International said in a statement.
The Network has over 200,000 POS terminals across more than 60,000 merchants in sectors including retail, hospitality, transport, and supermarkets among others, it said.
UPI acceptance will be rolled out progressively, covering a wide range of establishments from retail stores and dining outlets, as well as tourist and leisure attractions, including Dubai Mall and Mall of the Emirates.
By enabling UPI acceptance through its POS terminals, Network will provide a QR-based safe and secure method for facilitating cross-border payments, it said.
This will allow Indian tourists and NRIs with Indian bank accounts to use UPI for payments across the Network’s POS terminals in the UAE.
Launched in 2016, UPI is going global. More than 40 countries are reportedly in talks with India to roll out the UPI or similar, localized payment options.
Among the countries using UPI now are Sri Lanka, Mauritius, France, the UAE, Singapore, Bhutan, and Nepal.
