NRIs (non-resident Indians) will now be able to use their international mobile numbers to access the Unified Payments Interface (UPI). New guidelines from the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) now permit NRIs in 10 countries to use their international mobile phones to access UPI services for bank accounts that are designated as Non Resident External (NRE) or Non Resident Ordinary (NRO) accounts.

NRIs in these nations will now have the choice to activate a UPI account using the mobile number they already use in that nation with an international country code, in accordance with the requirements. Remember that a working India mobile phone number is required to create a UPI ID for any app.

UPI International transaction – When a user uses a UPI-enabled app, such as Google Pay or Paytm, the app sends an SMS from the user’s mobile number to confirm that the number is associated with the bank. Therefore, if a person moves abroad, accessing UPI requires them to keep their India numbers active, which can be expensive considering the cost of international roaming.

Since they no longer need to utilise their India mobile phone number, these users can now access UPI. The decision from the NPCI states that member banks must make sure UPI accounts are only permitted in accordance with “the current FEMA regulations and adherence to the guidelines/instructions issued by the concerned regulatory agencies of the Reserve Bank of India from time to time.”

UPI International transaction – According to NPCI, starting soon, mobile numbers with the country codes of the nations listed below in addition to the present domestic country code will be able to conduct transactions. It intends to expand the UPI facility for additional country codes soon. The supported nations list is:

Singapore

Australia

 Canada

 Hong Kong

Oman

Qatar

USA

Saudi Arabia

United Arab Emirates

United Kingdom

Remember that a user can only access UPI from an overseas mobile phone if they have an NRE or NRO account.

The industry has praised the NPCI’s action as well. “It is a wise decision that would significantly assist NRIs.” When NRIs visit India, the main convenience will be in the form of “payment/money transfer convenience,” since they will be able to pay quickly at the millions of Indian merchants who use UPI, eliminating the need for their pricey international cards. Vishwas Patel, Chairman, Payments Council of India, and Executive Director, Infibeam Avenues Ltd., stated on the announcement, “I believe in the long run, our NRIs will play a vital role in increasing the adoption and popularity of Indian payment technology – UPI – in foreign soil and truly making UPI a global payment and money transfer network.

“The NPCI’s recent announcement to expand the UPI facility to include more overseas NRE/NRO account holders is a fantastic step for expanding the use of digital payments. Indians who live abroad would benefit from quick transactions, unparalleled ease, and a seamless payment journey. According to Rajsri Rengan, Head of Development – Banking and Payments, India and the Philippines at FIS, the RBI’s journey toward strengthening digital payments will be further supported by this step. NPCI has been trying to increase and expand the use of UPI throughout the world.

All you need to know about PhonePe UPI International transaction-

UPI International transaction – A unified payment interface is called UPI. It is a speedy and practical method of sending money to India. Users can transfer funds to other bank accounts via the UPI app, which launched in 2016, on their registered mobile phones. This can be done at any time throughout the day, and it is sent instantly. The subject of this article is UPI international transfers.

Through a user’s ID, payments made via UPI can be made to India. Using the recipient’s UPI ID, you can send money from abroad in this manner. India can accept payments from nations using UPI, but Indian citizens cannot send money to nations using UPI.

UPI International transaction -The National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) has been actively pushing to enhance the network’s utilisation of the payment infrastructure in overseas regions, and PhonePe has become one of the largest third-party UPI apps to introduce this functionality.

UPI International transaction – For bank accounts that are categorised as non-resident external (NRE) or non-resident ordinary (NRO) accounts, non-resident Indians (NRIs) are now able to utilise UPI on their international numbers according to a circular released by NPCI last month.

Users will be able to make payments in foreign currency straight from their Indian bank accounts, just like they can with foreign debit cards, claims PhonePe.

Indian banks will be used to make the payment to the recipient, and it will be done in that person’s home currency.

PhonePe has launched “UPI International,” a feature that allows users who are traveling to foreign countries to pay foreign merchants using UPI and in the local currency. The most popular UPI app in India, PhonePe, has introduced “UPI International” to enable payments outside of India for the first time.

Rahul Chari, co-founder and CTO of PhonePe, described the ability to make foreign payments as a “game changer.”

1. Under this, Indian banks will make the payment in the recipient’s home currency by taking the appropriate amount from the user’s bank account. This is comparable to cross-border debit card transactions.

2. Either in the store where the merchant is located or before the journey, the facility must be activated on the PhonePe app itself. To activate, the customer must enter their UPI pin.

3. Local businesses in Singapore, the UAE, Bhutan, Mauritius, Nepal, and Singapore can currently accept internet payments. Soon, more nations will be included.

4. PhonePe and NPCI Payments International Limited (NPIL), a division of the National Payments Corporation of India, collaborated to establish UPI International (NPCI). August 2020 saw the introduction of NPIL.

5. The programme, which does away with the requirement for foreign credit, debit, and currency cards, can be downloaded on both Android and iOS devices.

Key Date-

By April 30, 2023, the NRI facility’s UPI should be accessible. According to the NPCI, “all members are thus instructed to comply with the following directives by April 30, 2023.”

Additionally, according to current UPI regulations, all onboarding and transaction level checks will be applicable to such accounts, according to NPCI.

By April 30, 2023, NRE/NRO account holders should have access to the UPI on international phones. With this, Indians who are now living overseas would be able to use UPI’s smooth payment system.

Rules and Regulations

Under the following criteria, member banks of the UPI ecosystem may offer UPI services to non-resident account types, such as NRE/NRO accounts with international mobile numbers:

The member banks must make sure “such sorts of accounts are only allowed as per the extant FEMA regulations and adherence to the guidelines/instructions issued by the respective regulatory agencies of Reserve Bank of India from time to time,” according to the FEMA regulations.

The requirement for banks to do “all appropriate Anti-Money laundering (AML)/Combating of terrorism (CFT) checks” is another requirement. The remitter/beneficiary banks will be accountable for performing compliance validations and account level validations in accordance with the regulations that apply under the regulatory guidelines.

Additionally, according to current UPI regulations, all onboarding and transaction level checks will be applicable to such accounts, according to NPCI.

In order to increase the acceptability of UPI payments in European markets, it also collaborated with the French international payments company Worldline in October last year.

Terrapay is one of the other collaborations for UPI acceptance abroad and cross-border payments.

The UPI worldwide programme will be expanded to other nations this year by NPCI and its international affiliate, NPCI International Payments Ltd. (NIPL).

According to a source, PhonePe is preparing to deploy UPI Lite, which would enable transactions up to Rs 200 without a PIN, on its platform soon.

With a recent $350 million investment from General Atlantic and a $12 billion pre-money valuation, PhonePe has become the most valuable fintech company in India.

According to a report by Bain and Company, the money will enable PhonePe to expand its business and compete with Google Pay, Paytm, and Amazon Pay in the $350 billion Indian fintech market by 2026.