NPCI International Accelerates UPI Adoption Across UAE to Support Cashless Economy Vision

NPCI International Payments Limited has announced significant progress in expanding India’s Unified Payments Interface acceptance across the United Arab Emirates, unveiling strategic initiatives to deepen the digital payment platform’s integration as both countries strengthen their financial connectivity.
 
The expansion supports the UAE’s ambitious vision of achieving a cashless economy while enhancing cross-border payment experiences for millions of Indians who travel between the two nations annually. UPI, India’s real-time account-to-account payment system, enables instant and secure transactions through mobile applications, currently handling over 18 billion transactions monthly to become one of the world’s leading digital payment infrastructures.
 
The UAE represents one of India’s most active travel and remittance corridors, with India’s Ministry of Tourism reporting over seven million Indians visiting the UAE annually, making them the country’s largest group of international visitors. This substantial flow of travelers creates significant opportunities for digital payment integration, allowing visitors to use familiar mobile payment applications from India while providing UAE merchants access to a digitally sophisticated customer base.
 
Satish Kumar Sivan, Consul General of India in Dubai, emphasized the transformative impact of the integration, stating that the experience of Indian diaspora and travelers to the UAE will be revolutionized after complete integration of UPI with the UAE’s digital payments architecture. He praised NPCI International’s aggressive efforts with merchant establishments, payment solution providers, and banks in the UAE to ensure seamless experiences for Indian customers.
 
NPCI International has established a solid foundation for UPI in the UAE through strategic collaborations with leading financial institutions and payment solution providers. Key partnerships with NeoPay from Mashreq Bank, Network International, and Magnati have enabled QR-based UPI acceptance across a rapidly expanding merchant network. High-profile outlets including Dubai Duty Free and Lulu Hypermarket are already accepting UPI payments, allowing Indian customers to settle purchases directly from their Indian bank accounts.
 
Ritesh Shukla, Managing Director and CEO of NPCI International, highlighted the milestone as bringing unparalleled convenience to millions of Indian travelers and residents while strengthening the digital bridge between the two economies. He emphasized that the expansion demonstrates growing global confidence in India’s digital payment innovations and supports the UAE’s cashless economy vision through seamless, secure, and real-time payment capabilities.
 
To accelerate adoption, NPCI International is working closely with UAE regulators and acquirers to enable UPI in high-frequency sectors including retail, hospitality, entertainment, transportation, and essential services. The platform supports real-time payments in Indian rupees, displays transparent exchange rates, and complies with safeguards such as transaction limits, two-factor authentication, and international usage controls issued by the Reserve Bank of India.
 
The initiative aligns with the Government of Dubai’s announced goal of achieving 90 percent digital transactions by 2026. NPCI International is enhancing its presence in the country by expanding UPI acceptance through sustained collaboration with UAE-based partners, committed to delivering seamless and secure digital payment experiences that generate lasting value for consumers, merchants, and the wider economy.
 
The expansion represents a significant step in cross-border financial connectivity, leveraging UPI’s open and interoperable architecture along with its rigorous security framework that allows smooth adaptation to regulatory environments beyond India. The initiative demonstrates the practical application of digital payment innovation in supporting bilateral economic relationships and facilitating international commerce.
 
NPCI International, incorporated as a wholly owned subsidiary of the National Payments Corporation of India in April 2020, serves as NPCI’s international arm devoted to deploying India’s indigenous real-time payment system and card scheme outside of India. The company focuses on transforming payments globally through technology and innovation, enabling payments for Indians while supporting other countries in enhancing their payment capabilities through technological assistance, consulting, and infrastructure development.