India’s UPI Push: Arriving G20 Delegates Can Now Use UPI At Select Locations

In a move to showcase India’s homegrown payments system United Payments Interface (UPI) to the world, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has proposed extending the facility to delegates arriving in India to attend the G20 summit.

During the Monetary Policy Committee meeting on Wednesday (8 February), RBI Governor Shatikanta Das announced all inbound travellers to India to use UPI for their merchant payments.

“This facility will be extended to travellers from G20 countries arriving at select international airports,” Das clarified.

UPI transaction touched a record value of INR 12.98 lakh crore in January, setting a new record while breaking its own previous record of last month. UPI now accounts for 52 per cent of total digital transactions in India in FY22, jumping from 17 per cent in 2019.

India has pushed for digital public infrastructure as one of the key areas of focus under its G20 Presidency, and plans to get more countries onboard the homegrown platform.

National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) is reportedly in talks with 30 countries to extend the facility, with the NPCI chief saying that three to four countries may sign up in the next few months.

UPI was also extended to Non-Resident Indians in select 10 countries recently, who now set up accounts and make payments using their mobile numbers and the appropriate country codes.

 The governor also announced that the RBI will launch a pilot project on QR Code based Vending Machine (QVCM) in 12 cities.