UPI Payment for Foreign Travellers Rule 2023: The Reserve Bank of India has decided to permit all inbound travellers to use UPI payments for their merchant payments while they are in the country. This facility will be initially extended to travellers from G20 countries arriving at select international airports, RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das said.

Commenting on the RBI decision, Rajsri Rengan, Head of Banking and Payments, India and Philippines, FIS, said: “The RBI’s announcement around extending UPI facility for inbound travellers to India is a great initiative. Customers coming to India will now be able to use UPI while carrying out P2M transactions. This is a great move to scale up the use of digital payments in India as well as improve their payment experience.”

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Recently, UPI access to Non-Resident Indians (NRIs) having international mobile numbers linked to their NRE/NRO accounts was provided. The facility will soon be available to all inbound travellers, starting with those from G20 countries.

How will UPI payment for foreign travellers work

As per RBI’s “Statement on Developmental and Regulatory Policies” released today (February 8), the UPI payment facility will be initially available to travellers from G20 countries.

  • The UPI payment facility will be available for merchant payments by travellers from G20 countries
  • The facility will be initially available at select international airports.
  • Later, it will be enabled across all other entry points in the country.

“Allowing UPI access to travellers from G20 countries will ease the payment process for foreign tourists when they make their merchant payments after arriving in India. The facility will be a welcome relief for travellers since it eliminates the need to carry cash and reduce dependency on an international debit card,” said Anup Nayar, CEO, Domestic – In-Solutions Global Ltd.

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What RBI said

Unified Payments Interface (UPI) has become a ubiquitous payment instrument for retail electronic payments in India. An enhancement has recently been made to provide UPI access to non-resident Indians who have international mobile numbers linked to their NRE / NRO accounts. It is now proposed to permit all inbound travellers to India also to access UPI for their merchant payments (P2M) while they are in the country. To start with, this facility will be extended to travellers from the G-20 countries, arriving at select international airports. Going forward, this facility will be enabled across all other entry points in the country. Necessary operational instructions will be issued shortly.

RBI’s Statement on Developmental and Regulatory Policies

Allowing UPI access to travellers from G20 countries is a great initiative by RBI to increase the global acceptance of UPI. This development will ease the payment process for foreign tourists when they make their merchant payments after arriving in India. The facility will be a welcome relief for travellers since it eliminates the need to carry cash and reduce dependency on an international debit card. In recent times, UPI has become extremely popular for retail digital payments in India. The move will go a long way in strengthening the digital payment alliance between India and its partner countries.

Anup nayar, CEO Domestic In-solution global ltd

Meanwhile, the RBI has increased the repo rate by 0.25%. Know how this decision is likely to impact home loan borrowers here.