UPI has become a global player when it comes to online payment, what makes it different is its accuracy and real-time settlement.
There are many international UPI competitors like USA’s Zelle or China’s AliPay, etc. These competitors are not exactly UPI tech and rather Wallet-to-Wallet transfers.
The superiority in terms of no transactions and technological enhancement is of UPI in the entire world. This made UPI a pioneer in digital transactions.
You can pay for anything from groceries, and car repairs, the vegetable vendor, roadside eateries, etc. using a UPI app. This makes this payment system unique.
Many countries in the world expressed their interest in building a digital infrastructure like UPI. United State of America received a concerned letter from Google, stating its concern with growing India’s UPI and why the USA should copy India’s UPI payments.
UPI was introduced by the National Payment Corporation of India or NPCI to facilitate digital payments in India however, with the success, NPCI launched UPI 2.0 with global plans.
Soon, you’ll see UPI being accepted internationally in many countries like UAE, USA, Bhutan, Nepal, etc.
In this article, we will discuss a list of countries accepting UPI as a payment option, UPI features, etc.
List Countries Accepting UPI Payments
The following is the list of countries accepting UPI Payments-
| Announcement | Countries | Entity partnering with UPI network |
| July 2021 | Bhutan | Royal Monetary Authority of Bhutan |
| September 2021 | Singapore | Monetary Authority of Singapore, PayNow |
| August 2021 | Malaysia | Merchantrade Asia |
| September 2021 | Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Philippines, Vietnam, Cambodia, Hong Kong, Taiwan, South Korea, Japan | Liquid Group |
| November 2021 | UAE | Network International (NI) |
| February 2022 | Nepal | Gateway Payment Services, Manam Infotech |
| April-August 2022 | UAE | LuLu Financial, NEOPAY (Mashreq Bank) |
| June 2022 | France | Lyra |
| August-September 2022 | United Kingdom | Terrapay, PayXpert |
| October 2022 | Netherlands, Belgium, Luxemburg, Switzerland | Worldline |
| October 2022 | Oman | Central Bank of Oman |
Features of UPI which Make it Unique
The following are the features of UPI that make it unique-
- Real tie money transfers are available to use around the clock i.e., 24×7 and 365 days
- Payment using a mobile app for accessing different bank accounts
- Single Click 2-factor authentication offering single click payments
- Virtual Address for the customer for Push and Pull provides incremental security for the customer
- Secure payments as you do not require to enter the details such as Card no, Account number; IFSC, etc.
- Payments using QR Code by scanning it using a mobile phone app
- You can pay the exact amount increase of round of amount using the UPI App
- You can pay utility bills, electricity bills, donations, collections, etc.
- You can raise a complaint from the mobile app directly
FAQ
You can make payments using UPI in France only if you have an account with the UPI-partnered app. In France, UPI has partnered with the Lyra Network to provide UPI service. If your bank has provided this feature then you can use the UPI App, almost all Indian Banks provide UPI services. You can find the list of banks offering UPI services on the official website of UPI.
Yes, UAE allows UPI payment options. You’ll have to check with the vendors if they accept the UPI Payments or not.
Yes, UPI Payment is a very safe and secure method of digital payment.
Yes, the UPI Payment request feature is available in other countries as well however, you’ll have to make sure the amount that you request from the merchant or person is within the limit of prescription allowed by the UPI.
