PhonePe has introduced ‘UPI International,’ a facility with which PhonePe users travelling to international destinations can pay foreign merchants via UPI, and in the currency of that country. With ‘UPI International,’ PhonePe, the most widely used UPI app in India, has become the first Indian fintech company to enable payments abroad.
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The international payments facility would be a ‘gamechanger,’ said Rahul Chari, co-founder and CTO of PhonePe.
“Over the past six years, all over India we’ve been able to experience the UPI payments revolution transforming our daily lives. UPI International is the first major step in letting the rest of the world in experiencing UPI too. I’m sure this launch would prove to be a gamechanger, and completely transform the way Indians travelling overseas pay at merchant outlets abroad,” said Chari in a statement.
Here’s all you need to know about this service:
(1.) Under this, Indian banks will deduct the amount from the user’s bank account, and make the payment in the receiver’s local currency. This is similar to international debit card transactions.
(2.) The facility is to be activated on the PhonePe app itself, and this can be done at the location of the merchant, or before the trip. The customer will have to enter his/her UPI pin to activate.
(3.) For now, online transactions are available for local merchants in Bhutan, Mauritius, Nepal, Singapore and the UAE. More countries will be added soon.
(4.) PhonePe has developed UPI International in collaboration with the NPCI Payments International Limited (NPIL), a subsidiary firm of the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI). NPIL was launched in August 2020.
(5.) The service, which eliminates the need for international cards (credit, debit and forex), is available for download on both Android and iOS devices.